Lucy's Fury
by nikoneko123
Summary: They finally did it. Natsu and Gray have pushed her over the edge, and it's going to take a lot for her to forgive them this time. She was so angry she quit their team, and started to hang out with the Thunder God Tribe, who she discovers are not how they appear to be to the rest of the guild. Rated T for future violence and swearing. I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL!
1. Chapter 1

**No-one's POV**

It was a normal early morning in the Fairy Tail guild.

Mirajane stood behind the bar handing Cana her sixth barrel of alcohol, and Gajeel grunted at Levy as she handed him another plate filled with iron scraps before sitting beside him with her head stuck in a book. The Thunder God Tribe sat at their usual table, talking quietly between themselves as Laxus listened to his sound pod.

As Mirajane was drying a glass, she looked up at the guild entrance, wondering where Fairy Tails residential Celestial Mage was. It was normal for her not to see the rest of Team Natsu till the early afternoon, however the blonde had usually arrived by now, and her missing presence caused Mira to become both curious and suspicious as to what had caused her absence.

Cana looked up at Mira and shuddered, taking a large gulp from her barrel; the card mage recognised Mira's matchmaker face, and could tell she was imagining the babies of some poor Fairy Tail pair who probably wasn't even dating.

'Pink haired brown eyed babies!' Mira squealed quietly, ignoring Cana's groan as she pictured the bundle of adorableness.

Mira's imaginings however where interrupted as the guild doors slammed open, a large crack making its way down the centre of one of the doors upon impact with the wall. All conversation, apart from that of the Thunder God Tribe, ceased as the guild members felt the malevolent aura that spread across the guild like a fog.

'That's a man!' Elfman muttered in regard to the power behind the slam, but was quickly silenced by Macao and Wakaba as they stared at the woman stalking across the guild towards the bar.

Mira stared at Lucy with worry as the blonde sat herself down at a bar stool and rested her head against the cool mahogany.

'Lucy, are you alri-'

'Please Mira. Drink, strong, now.' Lucy bit out, her words somehow making it past her lividly clenched teeth as she looked up at Mira pleadingly, before her anger over shadowed the look.

Mira quickly poured her a glass of whiskey, and watched in astonishment as Lucy downed it in one and slammed the glass on the bar, gesturing for a refill as she stood to face the guild.

Lucy's eyes scanned the room, searching for someone like a heat seeking missile.

For a tense moment, her gaze rested on the Thunder God Tribe (who were still talking amongst themselves, not caring about the blonde at all) and everyone drew in a sharp breathe, before an audible sigh of relief was heard as her eyes moved on.

Everyone loved Lucy, she was kind, forgiving and beautiful, and all of the members of Fairy Tail considered her to be a younger sister or daughter, however they all also knew that if she was riled, she became a thou8sand times scarier than Titania herself when someone harmed her strawberry cake.

Lucy frowned before sitting at the bar once again, drinking the refilled glass and filling it herself with the bottle Mira had left her. The Demon takeover mage knew that Lucy needed the detachment the alcohol offered her, but she watched worriedly from where she stood at the bar opposite Cana, who shrugged at her and began to drink her seventh barrel. She knew Lucy would pop soon, and they would all know what was going on, so she drank away at her alcohol and waited.

Gradually, the guild members began to recover from the shocked state at Lucy's above average level of anger, and started to whisper between themselves, trying to figure out the catalyst to her behaviour. Everyone had the same thoughts, and knew of only one or two wizards that could make her so angry that her murderous aura still hung in the air.

Lucy stared down at the amber liquid, swirling it in the crystal cut glass, before glaring at it and swallowing it.

'What's got your lace undies in a twist bunny girl? Gihi!' It had became dead silent once again as Gajeel sat himself down in the seat next to Lucy, and everyone froze as they heard what he said to her, except the Thunder God Tribe who looked on in amusement and laughed lightly before continuing their prior conversation.

Slowly, Lucy lowered her glass to the bar, and, not even looking at the iron dragon slayer, she punched him in the face with enough force to send him flying across the guild towards Laxus. Somehow Laxus managed to tear his concentration away from the song playing on his sound pod and sent his own lightning infused fist into Gajeel, slamming him to the ground unconscious as sparks flew around his immobile body.

Lucy cracked her knuckles, the sound seeming to echo in the silent guild hall, before she grabbed the bottle of whiskey and took a swig.

'Hey Luce!' Everyone groaned as the oblivious pink haired fire dragon slayer ran into the guild with Gray following close behind and his shirt flying off into the welcoming arms of Juvia who unsurprisingly appeared not far behind Gray.

Mira looked on as Lucy's dark aura seemed to pulse before she slowly turned to face the two mages with a deathly glare.

Gray stopped in his tracks and Mira could see the blood drain from his face as he realised how angry Lucy was, however Natsu continued on, still oblivious to Lucy's fury.

'We just came from your house, but you weren't there. We even checked the bathroom for you! We wanna go on a job with you! Come on, let's go!' Lucy stared at Natsu before whispering beneath her breath.

'What?' Suddenly Happy appeared and was trying to drag Natsu away from their fuming partner, but failed as Natsu swatted at him. Happy quickly backed off as he saw Lucy's ire reach a level no one had ever seen before, and he whimpered.

'Lusshhhyyy!' But she ignored him as Natsu started talking again.

'Yeah, sorry about last night, we figured we could help pay it off-' Lucy's foot lashed out, slamming into Natsu's jaw and sending him flying backwards out of the wide open guild doors, before immediately advancing on a terrified Gray and punching him in the stomach, much to the outrage of a certain water mage who made a move to defend her Gray-sama, but was frozen under Lucy's deathly gaze.

Evan Laxus looked on in surprise as both Gray and Natsu remained unconscious on the ground from the blondes punches.

Lucy turned back to the bar and drained the last of the whiskey before throwing the bottle at Natsu's prone form. Her aim was true, as it smashed against his head and she smiled darkly as she heard a groan from him.

The guild stared on in pure amazement, now in complete silence, as she walked over to the Thunder God Tribe and grabbed Freed by the collar of his red velvet coat, and dragged him out of the guild, ignoring his spluttering and shouting.

It took at least five minutes for everyone to get over their surprise, which was suddenly broken by Elfman.

'That's a MAN!' He shouted, pumping his fist in the air. He broke everyone out of the various states of silence, and they watched as the remaining members of the Thunder God Tribe ran out after their kidnapped member, even Laxus followed at a high speed walk.

Not long after they had left, Gray groaned and opened his eyes, before wishing he'd stayed knocked out. Before him stood Mirajane in her Satan Soul form, glaring at him in pure unadulterated rage, the rest of the guild gathering behind her stared on solemnly, feeling no sympathy for the ice make mage who clearly had a hand in Lucy's foul mood.

'What. Did. You. Do. To. Lucy?!' Mira whispered, her voice carrying through the air and her anger permeating into Master Makarovs office, who sighed and jumped down from his desk, glad to escape the mountain of paperwork to go and see what had angered Mira enough to make her go to such lengths as a transformation.


	2. Chapter 2

**Lucy's POV**

I was fuming. I expected Natsu to do something so utterly and incomparably stupid, but for Gray to do it? _In my home_? I growled under my breath, ignoring Freed still complaining as I dragged him behind me.

My arm was starting to ache from dragging his unwilling carcas home, so I fingered one of my keys and called out sharply.

'Taurus!' The pervy bull immediately appeared, and thankfully grabbed Freed, flinging him over his shoulder and following me without a comment or glance at my breasts.

'Tch.' I muttered. If this perverted spirit could sense my mood and knew not to piss me off, it just went to show how utterly stupid Natsu was for egging me on.

'Lucy! RELEASE ME AT ONCE!' Freed shouted, trying to reach for his sword that he had strapped to his waist. Taurus quickly grabbed his arms, immobilising him.

'Freed, shut up. I need you to do something for me and I'm too angry to deal with anything, so just shut it. If you just come willingly I'll let you walk.' I clenched my fists tightly, ignoring the pain in my knuckles from punching Gajeel's stupid iron face. Thankfully Freed stopped kicking Taurus before sighing and agreeing to come with me. I touched Tarus's key in my belt pouch, and he disappeared in a shower of golden light, dropping Freed to the floor.

'Come on.' I called out, stalking away from the mage. I heard him mutter under his breath before he jogged to walk beside me.

'What is it? And why the anger Lucy?' I ground my teeth together angrily, before muttering under my breath.

'Stupid pink haired bastard. Freaking icicle butt.' Freed chuckled slightly.

'Ah, that explains a lot. What do you need me for though?'I stopped and cocked my head at him, my hand on my hip as I raised an eyebrow.

'Freed, you're a rune mage. Why do you _think_ I want you?' Freed looked shocked at how I'd spoken to him, but nodded his head in understanding as I lead him to my house. Or at least, what remained of it.

I watched as Freed pulled out his sword and began to write runes surrounding my window and the exterior of my home as I sat on the edge of the canal, my legs dangling above the water as I tried to quench my anger so I could treat Freed civilly after him doing me such a favour.

**Laxus's POV**

I strolled out of the guild, following the frantic Bickslow and Evergreen as they tried to find Blondie and Freed. The music from my sound pod drowned out their annoying voices as they fretted in their own ways; Evergreen complaining about Blondie stealing her spotlight, when she was the Fairy of Fairy Tail, and Bickslow making perverted comments about him not knowing Lucy was such a masochist.

I sniffed the air, and started walking in the direction of Freeds smell of old books and coconut which mixed with blondies vanilla and strawberry scent. Bickslow and Evergreen followed not far behind, knowing out of any of them, I would find Freed fastest. It surprised me when the blond actually punched the iron freak pretty damn hard, but I'd managed to hide my shock, acting pretty casual as I electrocuted the flying mass of metal. It was harder for me to disguise my surprise at her beating both Gray and Natsu with one hit. I'd always thought the blonde was one of the weakest members of the guild, but obviously she's been holding back on us.

I grinned as I got closer to their smells, along with a smell of burning. Natsu must have done something really bad to piss off the happy blonde, and I couldn't wait to find out what!

**Freed's POV**

I wrote out the runes I knew Lucy wanted me to write, ensuring that both Natsu and Gray wouldn't be able to enter the home without her permission, and that any magical abilities either of them tried to use would be suppressed. I also added in a provision that stated should they try to start a fist fight without magic, they would be trapped in a rune cage separately until they were released with Lucy's approval. However, most of my efforts went into making sure they couldn't enter the property.

These other runes were there as a backup in the unlikely event the two idiots developed a brain somewhere.

As I finished, I turned and walked across to Lucy, waiting for her to stand.

As I'd worked, I could feel her trying to calm herself, and noticed that she had done quite well in doing so.

There was a sudden burst of golden light and a young woman in a maid costume with pink hair and broken shackles on her wrists appeared beside Lucy.

'Punishment Hime?' Lucy sighed and turned to smile at her spirit.

'Not today Virgo. Do you mind cleaning up a bit inside? I've got a few guests and some explaining to do.'

'Yes Hime. Punishment for pink bastard and icicle butt Hime?' Lucy giggled slightly and stood to hug the spirit, whose arms encircled her master in a tight hug, before she disappeared once again.

I heard Lucy sigh before she turned to face me, smiling apologetically.

'Sorry Freed, for dragging you out here. It's just those two idiots have really done it this time.' I inclined my head in acknowledgment as she lead me up to her apartment.

'I'm going to put some tea on, I know that the rest of your team will turn up at any moment. Please, sit down.' Lucy said as she invited me into her home and gestured to a comfy looking pink sofa as she walked across to her small kitchen area.

I looked around the room, my eyes lingering on a large bookshelf stuffed full of books, many of which I'd read, but many of which I haven't read, making my fingers itch to wander across the leather bound papers filled with knowledge. I forced my eyes to move on, and quickly inspected the rest of the room, ignoring the pink covered bed that was against the wall, and glancing at the table, noticing a small blackened wooden box. I frowned and sat myself down on her sofa, waiting for her to finish making the tea as my eyes were magnetically attracted to her book case. The urge to get up and snatch several of the books was almost overwhelming; however I managed to hold myself back for manners and etiquettes sake.

I heard Lucy giggle behind me, and turned to see her amused face.

'It's alright Freed, you can go look at my books. You can borrow them if you like, I've read them all already.' I blinked before quickly striding to the shelves and pulling out several books, my eyes eating up the titles and double checking whether I've read them before.

I saw Lucy's guild marked hand hold out a pair of Gale force glasses to me and gratefully took them off of her, before carrying a pile of books over to the table, placing them down as I read through book after book using the glasses.

I heard a knocking at the door, and knew the rest of my team plus Laxus had arrived, yet ignored them in favour of the immense knowledge I was gaining in regards to celestial magic and the history of Fiore.

I grunted in acknowledgement of my team as I vaguely heard them call my name, but had just gotten to an interesting part in a fiction book I'd grabbed off of the shelf, and couldn't tear myself away.

**Lucy's POV**

'FREED!' Evergreen shouted as she burst through the door before I could open it all the way. All she got in return was a grunt as the rune mage had obviously gotten to the best bit of the book. She glared before pouting and slumping in a seat across from him.

'It seems you've found Freed's weakness blondie.' I heard a deep voice chuckle, and looked up to see Laxus in front of Bickslow, whose tongue hung out of his mouth, and his "babies" encircled his head, repeating Laxus's words, "weakness, weakness!"

I shrugged and invited them inside, gesturing for them to sit beside Freed, who was now reading through a large tome about the hidden history of Fiore that I had managed to salvage from my Father's old library. I could see the scholarly mage was having the time of his life as his eyes widened at several parts of information within the book.

'I'll just get the tea, please sit down.' Laxus nodded, his sound pod still over his ears and Bickslow winked behind his metal grate before swaggering into my apartment.

I shut the door and quickly went to pour the tea, giving everyone a mug before sitting with them. We waited for Freed to finish reading the last book and remove the gale force glasses I'd lent him, before the questions began.

'So blondie, what'd you nick Freed for?' I took a sip from my tea, ignoring the urge to glare at Laxus for calling me blondie.

'You're blonde too genius, and I needed him to write me some runes to keep the two idiots away from my house.' My hand started stroking along the burnt wooden box I'd pulled towards me as I'd sat down, staring sadly down at the ruined container.

'What did fire breath and ice boy do to ya cosplayer?' Bickslow asked, his tongue lolling out.

"Cosplayer! Cosplayer!" I sighed at the wooden totems hovering around, zooming across my apartment.

I looked down at the box again and took a deep breath.

'They destroyed something I valued, which I can never get back.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Lucy's POV**

I sighed, my hand stroking the box still as I began to explain in more detail.

'You might not know, but I want to be a novelist, and have been writing in between my jobs. Well, being partnered with a fire mage, my manuscripts quite often disappear into a cloud of smoke and ash. I got over that quite quickly, and now have several spare copies hidden in various places, all spelled with a resistance to fire magic. I'd also had this box specially spelled by a very powerful elemental resistance mage, so fire wouldn't even be able to come within a metre of this box. It would be repelled.'

'I'm assuming that your stories weren't kept in that box then?' Freed asked curiously. I shook my head, fingering the blackened wooden carvings of the wood.

'No. Something way more valuable to me. Anyway, I figured it would be safe to just leave it on my desk, as I put something in it every day; because the box was spelled against Natsu, I thought it would be fine. Somehow though, I'd forgotten about Gray, and didn't realise that the spell had a weakness to an element opposite of what it was spelled against.' I heard Evergreen take in a sharp breath and nodded sadly.

'Yup. Last night those two idiots arrived here while I was in the shower, and inevitably got into a fight. Erza wasn't here, and Happy pretty much encouraged it. I heard them shouting out their spells and quickly got out the shower, ready to Lucy Kick their asses outta here, but as I opened the door, I saw a blast of Grays ice hit the box, then he dodged one of Natsu's fire blasts, which then hit the box. It went up in flames immediately, along with my desk. I just stood there in shock, before I screamed at them to leave.' I pulled a little key out of my pouch, and unlocked the box, turning it to show them the interior. All that was left was a large pile of ashes.

'So what was in there?' Laxus asked, his sound pod now hanging around his neck. I shut the lid and clenched my fists, looking down at the box again as tears dripped from my face.

'After my Mother died when I was little, my Dad pretty much ignored me, forgot my existence unless it was for his own benefit. You know, parties, public appearances, whenever he needed to show that the great Heartfilia family was as strong as ever, despite their loss.' I scoffed, angrily wiping my tears away.

'I would have gone made from the loneliness. But every day, I'd write a letter to my Mum, and I kept them all in here. Ever since I was 10, I'd write to her about how I felt, what I did, about how Dad was doing. Now it's all gone. Everything.'

**Bickslow's POV**

I stared at Cosplayer, astonished and a bit nervous as her tears started to flow freely down her face, and she started to break down into sobs, clutching the little burnt box. Myself, Laxus and Freed exchanged looks of panic. We don't know how to deal with a crying chick! Evergreen glared at us from behind her glasses and got up to hug Cosplayer, before dragging her off to her bathroom.

We sat silently, listening as her sobs grew louder.

'Don't think Cosplayer's gonna forgive those two anytime soon guys.' I muttered, staring at the box Ever had forced Lucy to let go of. Freed nodded and Laxus grunted his agreement, pulling his sound pod back over his ears to drown out her cries.

I grimaced as I heard Ever's voice trying to calm the blonde down, sipping the cup of tea she'd given me.

'So. What do we do?' I asked, glancing between Laxus and Freed. Freed frowned, thinking and Laxus just shrugged.

'Cosplayer ain't gonna want to go on a job with those two for a while. We leave her here alone we'll have Mira on our asses for not doing something. Dunno about you, but I don't wanna have to deal with Satan Soul like those two idiots probably are right now.' "Satan Soul! Satan Soul!" My babies chuckled nervously, hovering over my shoulder. Laxus scoffed, but I saw his face go slightly paler at the mention of Mira, and Freed coughed lightly, his eyes wide at the thought.

'So what? You wanna have her as part of Raijinshuu then?' Laxus said gruffly. I grinned, sticking my tongue out and winking from behind my mask. Freed frowned and nodded slowly.

'It could work. From what I could gather from reading a few of her books about celestial magic, holding open one gate of the zodiac is equivalent to the magic expenditure Laxus uses when performing his high ability dragon slayer magic. Considering I've heard that she can hold open three or four gates at any given time for more than a couple of minutes, we're talking about her magical ability being on par with Fairy Law. That is my prediction, from the little amount of information I have on celestial magic.'

**Laxus's POV**

I stared at Freed in shock before grinning at Bickslow.

'No wonder she whooped your ass Bix!' I said, ignoring the glare I got off of him and his babies. Freed nodded his agreement before continuing on.

'Also, the versatility of her magic could make performing unison raids with her really simple. Currently, she has ten of the golden keys, so ten of the most powerful spirits in the celestial world, along with some pretty strong silver keys. All of which have different abilities and affinities to various types of magic. Not only that, but she can cast, Urano Metria, a legendary celestial spell that very few people even know of its existence, let alone have the magical ability to pull it off. Make no mistake, Lucy Heartfilia is a powerful mage.' I frowned, considering what he'd said.

'Oi, Freed. What's this Urano Metria's magical level at in comparison to mine?' Freed frowned for a moment, and I could see the cogs turning in his mind as he worked out the figures in his head.

'Well, so far she's had to use Gemini in order to cast it, meaning it's magical level is equivalent to casting Fairy Law twice, at the same time.' Bickslow whistled in astonishment before grinning.

'Well it seems we've got another member of the Thunder God Tribe guys.' He cackled, his abnormally large tongue flopping out of his mouth. "Another member! Another member!"

I smiled slowly and nodded, thinking of the potential blondie had hidden inside that curvy body of hers.

'Do you think she's aware of her capabilities Freed?' I asked, and grinned as he shook his head. I couldn't wait for blondie to realise her strength, then I might have a good fight on my hands if everything Freed said turned out to be true. Maybe the weakest member of Fairy Tail wasn't so weak after all.

**Evergreen's POV**

I hugged Lucy as her tears fell from her face, and her sobs wracked through her body. Guys were useless as soon as a girl started crying, so I knew I was alone with this one.

I stroked her hair, shushing her as she fell apart.

I could tell that what those two brats had done had really hurt her, and I could understand the pain of losing something as valuable as those letters. It was clear Lucy adored her deceased Mother, and clear that by destroying one of the tenuous links she had to her Mother, those boys had jeopardised their entire friendship with Lucy.

_What she did to them wasn't enough._ I thought, before smiling evilly when I remembered that Mira and the rest of the guild would know it was their fault that Lucy was so angry.

'I'm sorry Evergreen.' She mumbled against my chest, hiccupping as her sobs slowly began to trail off.

'It's alright Lucy. Please, call me Ever.' She pulled back and smiled up at me, wiping her eyes and taking deep calming breaths.

'No, I'm sorry. I just... the anger's finally worn off and now I'm just...' She trailed off, looking down at the floor and I saw more tears well up in her eyes. I quickly grabbed her face and pulled her head around so she stared at me.

'No. Don't cry any more tears because of what those two bastards did to you. They don't deserve it.' She sighed and blinked away the tears, before smiling softly at me again, her deep brown eyes still watery and red.

'Looking back I know it was an accident-'

'No Lucy!' I interrupted, angry for her now. 'Those two know they shouldn't be fighting in someone's home, and they know not to use magic in fights away from the guild. They deserve your anger, and they deserve their punishment. Don't you start forgiving them now, because that won't bring back your letters and it won't teach them a lesson!' She smiled gently and shrugged.

'Being angry at them won't bring them back either.' Huffed in annoyance, folding my arms across my chest and giving her a haughty look.

'They need to learn that they won't be forgiven every time they destroy something! How many times have you come running into the guild needing to take a solo mission cause those two idiots destroyed everything, using up the reward on repairs, and you nearly being evicted due to late rent? How many times have you had to pay for new furniture because of flame brain burning something? Also, I'm betting that damned dragon slayer comes here every time he feels hungry, and you end up paying out a load of money on groceries because he has a stomach like a pit!' I knew I'd hit the nail on the head with every single question, as her face had become harder and harsher with every word, realising how much she lets her team members get away with.

'They need to know that this time, they've hurt you really bad. If they want you back, they need to grovel at your feet and beg for forgiveness, because it's not coming easily this time around!' I smiled gently and grabbed her hands, looking into her chocolate brown eyes that had dried from her tears.

'Lucy, everyone knows you're a lovely person. You've forgiven me and the Raijinshuu for everything we've done wrong, and you always acknowledge us when you walk in the guild. You have no idea how much we're grateful to you for your complete forgiveness after all of our sins, but right now, you can't be that forgiving. Losing something that precious to you hurts too much.' She nodded and squeezed my hands.

'I know Ever. I guess it's just become habit to forgive those two bakas every time they ruin stuff. Thank you, for understanding.' She smiled, but this time the smile reached her eyes, and I saw first-hand why some people call her the light of Fairy Tail.


	4. Chapter 4

**Mira's POV**

I grinned sadistically at the two mages tied to the chairs with magic restricting ropes, before having Elfman tip a barrel of water over their heads, waking them from their unconscious states. After I had asked Gray what they'd done, he'd fainted out of fear of my Satan soul form, so I forced myself to calm down and barked out instructions to the guild members, which they obligingly followed.

When Erza showed up and asked what had happened, when I told her about Lucy's behaviour and that I wanted to know what they'd done to cause it, she very nearly skewered them on the spot.

'M-M-Mira...' Gray sputtered, his face turning ashen. I heard Juvia wailing from another room, but ignored her pleas to release her "Gray-sama". I smiled sweetly at Gray.

'Good afternoon Gray, how are you feeling?' I asked, my voice layered in sweetness, causing his pale face to go grey.

'And Natsu, how do you feel?' He looked around, confused before trying to get up and scowled.

'Lemme go Mira, I gotta go find Luce!' I scowled at him, before regaining my control and smiling again, my face straining from the effort of locking away my anger.

Lucy was like a sister to me, and had reminded me in many ways of Lisanna, and my affection for her hadn't gone away when Lisanna returned from Edolas. As such, I was overly-protective of the poor blonde mage whose childhood haunted her far more than she allowed herself to express.

'Well Natsu, it seems she doesn't want to talk to you. Would you be so kind as to tell me what you did to hurt Lucy in such a way?' My voice had become more and more strained.

'I dunno. She got angry at ice-tard too.' He muttered, grinning and sticking his tongue out at Gray, who looked as though he was a ghost judging by the pallor of his skin.

I felt my Satan Soul wanting to burst forth and quickly walked out of the room.

'They're all yours Erza. Please try not to hurt them too much, we don't want Wendy to over-exert herself.' Erza nodded sharply before releasing her powerfully dark aura. I heard both Gray and Natsu squeal before shutting up and spilling the beans to Erza, whose aura grew beyond measure.

'YOU DID WHAT?!' She screamed. We all stood in the main guild hall, waiting for Erza to come out and tell us what they'd done this time.

As soon as Erza walked into the front of the guild dragging the once again unconscious mages behind her, the guild stopped their conversations to hear what she had to say.

Master Makarov sat on the bar, drinking a mug of beer, before placing it down.

'Tell us what happened Erza. I've never known Lucy to get this mad before, and I'm just as curious as everyone else.' Erza sighed heavily, frowning and looking at me pleadingly. My eyes widened, but I silently poured her a glass of sake, and watched as the requip mage gulped it down. It was very rare for Erza to drink, and we all knew this was going to shock and sadden us.

**Erza's POV**

I sighed as I sat down and began to speak clearly about what had happened.

'As you all know, Lucy's Mother passed away a long time ago. I found out that Lucy got into the habit of writing letters to her Mother every day to alleviate the pain of being ignored by her Father, and still does it now through a sense of duty to her Mother. I only know of this because Lucy asked me a long time ago for the address of an elemental spell caster I knew so that she could protect the box these letters were contained in from Natsu's fire. Last night, Natsu and Gray got into a fight while myself and Lucy weren't present in her apartment, her being in the shower. Gray's ice obviously managed to break the protective spell, and Natsu's fire destroyed all of those letters.' The guild was silent before means they realised what had happened.

'Lucy must feel like her last link to her Mother has been severed. Although it was an accident, I believe it shall take her some time to forgive these two for what they've done. I know I would never do so, but it's in Lucy's nature to forgive, they just have to be patient. We have to be patient.' Everyone nodded solemnly, and I turned to see tears trailing down Mira's face. Lisanna quickly walked over to her sister and hugged her, trying to hold back her own sadness for my team member.

'This could explain why she took Freed. She probably has had him write runes to keep them away from her home.' Mast said, sighing as he picked up his mug of beer and taking another sip, before looking down at the other members of Team Natsu.

'They've really done it this time, haven't they Erza?' I nodded silently, my own grief for the girl I had come to consider as my best friend and sister was overwhelming. I knew Lucy would be distraught at the loss of those letters.

'Well, send them to my office when they wake up. I'll have a word with them, and tell them to leave Lucy alone for a while. Erza, would you mind escorting them on a job for a few months? I feel like this will give Lucy time to get over the loss. I understand that you want to be with her, but this may be best.' I nodded at Masters request, agreeing with him, but still feeling depressed at not being able to support Lucy through her sadness.

I felt a hand rest on my arm and looked up to see Levy smiling up at me.

'Don't worry Erza. Lu-chan will be alright. She's stronger than we all know.' I smiled as Cana piped up, putting down her barrel of alcohol.

'Yeah, she took out Gray and Natsu with one hit! Not to mention making metal face over there fly from a punch to the face!' Everyone snickered as Gajeel scowled.

'Stupid bunny girl.' He mumbled, rubbing his chin where she'd sucker punched him. I grinned, nodding in agreement.

'I'm glad our private training sessions worked out so well.' Everyone laughed and began to talk amongst themselves about how Lucy had grown so strong.

I took Levy's hands in mine and looked into her eyes, serious all of a sudden.

'Please Levy, be there for her for me.' She nodded, smiling.

'Of course I will Erza! We all will, won't we guys?' Levy called out over her shoulder, and the guild cheered its approval. I smiled before inclining my head in gratitude and grabbing my two team mates when I heard their groans, signalling they were waking up.

As I made my way upstairs to Masters office, I worriedly looked towards the guilds entrance, staring at the cracked door.

'Please be alright Lucy.' I whispered, my voice cracking with sadness for my friend.

**Lucy's POV**

I splashed water on my face to wash away the horrid feeling tears leave behind on your cheeks, and dried my face, smiling up at Ever, who in turn grinned at me.

We walked out of the bathroom together, starting to talk about each other's make-up brands and preferences, and exchanging advice about which one was best. Though I considered Erza as my best friend, I knew that she wouldn't have as much an input in this kind of conversation, rather she would take everything I said as gospel and not give me her own opinion on this sort of thing.

Ever on the other hand constantly countered my own solid beliefs in certain brands with her own, and I found myself convinced to change my supplier.

We laughed as we noticed the confused and slightly terrified faces of Bickslow and Freed, Laxus was wearing his sound pod, so probably didn't even hear the conversation, then again you never know with these dragon slayers.

'Hey guys, sorry about that. Do you want to stay for lunch? I think I have some bacon left, could have bacon sarnies?' **(A/N: sarnies, aka, sandwiches)**

I heard their stomachs grumble loudly at the mention of food, and me and Ever giggled as we walked to the kitchen and began to prepare the lunch, still having a girl talk, but this time about clothes.

'Oi! Hurry up with my food!' I heard Laxus shout, interrupting our conversation. Both me and Ever exchanged a look, before turning to glare at him.

'Shut up blondie.' I called out, sticking my tongue out at him, before turning back to the bacon, as it sizzled on the grill. Ever giggled and carried on buttering the bread as we heard Laxus grumble about rude women before shutting himself off in his sound pod again.

I smiled to myself, happy that the Raijinshuu were here.

I quietly walked back into the room to get the mugs so I could pour a second cup of tea, and froze as I saw Bickslow ruffling through one of my drawers; my underwear drawer to be precise.

Freed had his head stuck in another pile of my books, quickly going through them with my gale force glasses, but Laxus was glancing across and smirking at what Bickslow was doing.

I felt my fists clenching and my eyes saw red as I silently advanced forwards, my notorious anger surfacing its ugly head once more.

**Laxus's POV**

I'd told Bickslow not to do it, and that if he got caught, blondie would deal him out a proper beating, but the perverted seith mage just didn't listen, and searched through her drawers before murmuring "Jackpot!" under his breath as he held up a black lacy strip which women considered as underwear.

'Tch.' I spat out, glancing at the material before turning away to listen to my sound pod. I sure as hell didn't want blondie beating on me.

That's when I saw her standing in the doorway, giving Bix a look that would have left him deep underground if looks could kill. I smirked, waiting to see what she'd do.

I watched as she slowly walked up to him, her anger increasing with each step as Bix carried on rummaging. Her ire reached it's peak as she stood behind him, her eyes narrowed into a deadly glare. Even Freed had noticed the malevolent feel to the air, and dragged his head away from reading some book, his eyes and mouth widening in shock at Bickslows behaviour, before he turned quickly and hunched over into the book again.

I grinned as I watched blondie's hands fist up and waited, watching the show unfold.

**Bickslow's POV**

The first clue I had to her standing behind me was when I heard her say my name. At the time I was inspecting an interesting red lacy bra, but I felt my fingers release it immediately after I realised I'd been caught.

'Bicksslooowwwww...' Her voice was guttural, and as I turned I realised I'd been too engrossed in her underwear to feel the evil aura that radiated off of her. I glanced at Laxus, glaring at his amused face. I'd asked the bastard to be my look out, and took his grunt as agreement.

'Uh, hi cosplayer... interesting set of drawers you got here... was just looking at um... how they slid in their slots so nicely! Been looking at a set of drawers just like this, right babies?' I said nervously, laughing up at my totem dolls. "Right! Right!" They echoed, hovering behind me.

Lucy's glare narrowed, before she smiled gently, her terrifying anger gone. I blinked in shock.

'Oh really? Yeah, they're pretty good drawers huh?' I nodded dumbly.

_Is she stupid? _I thought as she turned around to walk back to the kitchen, and I gave a sigh of relief before grinning cockily at Laxus, my tongue hanging out of my mouth.

**Laxus's POV**

I burst out laughing as blondie suddenly span and slammed her foot into Bickslow's face, knocking that cocky grin of his into shock. She'd backed off enough that she had enough space to kick with maximum power, and Bix flew airborne before slamming into the wall, his babies too slow to catch him.

Bix groaned and staggered to stand up, only to have blondie step right up in his personal space, forcing him to back into the wall.

'I ever catch you looking at my underwear again perv, you'll wish for me to kick you like that again.' Bix nodded, still dazed, before blondie smiled up at him and patted his shoulder.

'Good, now go sit down, lunch is nearly ready.' She said, before skipping back to the kitchen and being greeted by Ever.

I sniggered as Bix got his babies to help him stagger to his seat and drop into the chair, causing it to creak slightly.

'Shut up Laxus. You were supposed to be my look out!' He hissed, glancing towards the kitchen then back to glare at my face.

'I never agreed to anything.' I said still laughing at how blondie had smashed him.

'Alright guys, lunch is ready!' I looked up to see blondie and Ever walking in carrying a huge plate piled high with bacon sandwiches, and heard my stomach groan as it anticipated the food, the mouth-watering smell of bacon making me feel the hunger all the more.

Freed sighed as he shut the book he'd just finished, and smiling up at blondie, he thanked her.

As she took a bite out of her sandwich, I asked her a question.

'Hey blondie, how about joining the Raijinshuu?'


	5. Chapter 5

**AUTHORS NOTE: **I'd just like to thank everyone for their lovely reviews and comments, and for showing your support and telling me your opinions about my fanfic! I know it might look like a LaLu so far, but here comes a curve ball! ;) Please don't hate me! :) Thank you again! xx

**Lucy's POV**

I inhaled and ended up choking on my sandwich. Ever patted my back and glared at Laxus, who smirked at my hacking coughs as I suffocated on bread and bacon. I took a drink from my tea after I'd finished coughing, and took deep breaths to try and restore my body with oxygen, before looking up at the smug blonde.

'What?' I asked, my eyes wide in disbelief.

'Join the Thunder God Tribe. We take you on high paying missions, you get away from the two idiots. Sounds like a good deal to me.' He shrugged, taking a massive bite out of his sandwich and staring at me as he chewed.

'But I'm a part of Team Natsu! I can't just leave Erza behind, and I will go forgive them one day...' I finished in a mumble as I began to truly consider their offer.

'Fine. Don't join, just tag along on missions. I'm not officially part of the Raijinshuu, but I go on missions with them. You can just tag along till you decide if you want to become a permanent fixture.' He threw me a grin as he devoured another sandwich. I narrowed my eyes at him in consideration.

'Why me? I'm not all that strong, and I know Ever, Bickslow and Freed are strong. What if I hold them back?' I didn't allow my eyes to stray from his face as I awaited his answer.

'Hey cosplayer, don't say that crap. You're the one who knocked out two dragon slayers and an ice make mage today. Plus you kicked my face into the wall. You ain't weak for sure!' "Sure! Sure!" I smiled at Bickslows totems as they hovered in front of me.

'Lucy, I can assure you, you're far from weak. Please listen to me at least.' Freed smiled at me, before going and grabbing another book from my shelves, making me giggle.

'I hate to say it, but those two are right Lucy. At least come along on a mission with us, I need someone to have some interesting conversation with.' Ever said, throwing her arm across my shoulders and smiling.

I looked at Laxus to see him nodding in agreement as he munched on another sandwich. I sighed before grinning.

'Okay, I'll join you on missions, but I'm not joining you guys just yet, lets call it a trial run, okay?' Bickslow and Ever cheered, and Freed looked up and smiled from the book he held, before returning to reading.

'Great blondie. Now all we got to do is-' He was interrupted by a lacrima beeping, and I giggled as he pulled it out groaning.

**Laxus's POV**

'What do you want gramps?' I snapped, annoyed at him interrupting me speaking and my lunch.

'Laxus, where are you right now?' I raised an eyebrow before replying.

'What's it to you old man?' Gramps glared at me before I grinned and answered.

'I'm at blondies place with the Raijinshuu. What do you want?' I saw a twinkle enter his eye, similar to that Mira gets when she scents the potential for a new couple, and I growled at him, ignoring the questioning gazes of the people around me.

He chuckled from the end of the lacrima before grinning evilly at me.

'I've got some paperwork that needs doing Laxus, and it's on your desk.' I felt my eyes widen slightly before I managed to control my frustration. I loathed paperwork.

'Can't gramps. Going on a job with blondie and the Raijinshuu. Get Mira to help you.' I snapped. He knew I hated paperwork, and thanks to the two idiots on Team Natsu and an overly destructive requip mage, there were tonnes of requests to Fairy Tail for repair costs and compensation because of their over-zealous fights.

'Oh? I hadn't realised you'd taken a job already.' Gramps smirked sneakily from the lacrima and I glared at him, lightning beginning to crackle around my body. I took deep breathes, calming myself before I answered.

'That's because we just convinced blondie to come with us. We'll be at the guild in 5, so get rid of those two brats before blondie or one of us kills them.' Lucy stared at me, puzzled before looking away blushing when she realised I'd been watching her. I smirked before looking back at the lacrima.

'Ah well. I suppose I can deal with it.' He grumbled. I knew the old man hated paperwork as much as I did, and used any excuse possible to avoid doing it, meaning he foisted more off on me and guilt tripping me into doing it.

'Oh, can I talk to Lucy please?' I nodded and passed the lacrima across to Lucy, ensuring my fingers brushed against hers, and enjoying watching her blush. This was going to be amusing.

'H-Hello Master.' She stuttered, getting over my hand brushing hers probably. I smirked as I tore a chunk out of the last bacon sandwich.

'Lucy, I felt I should tell you that the guild knows why you're angry thanks to Erza explaining it to us. I thought you should know that Erza has taken them out on a job that should last for 4 months or so. We felt this would be best for you.' Blondie smiled at gramps and nodded.

'I truly am sorry about what they did Lucy, even though it was accidental, they should have been more careful. They are very sorry. Erza had to knock them out to stop them from coming to you. I know you'll forgive them, but don't worry about how long it'll take.' She laughed, though it was slightly strained, and I snatched the lacrima from her to try and prevent another tear fest. Jeez, I can deal with a lot of crap, but put a crying girl in front of me and I just don't know what to do.

'Anyway, in a bit gramps.' He nodded and winked at me, before I shut off the communication lacrima and popped the last bit of sandwich in my mouth.

I stood up and pulled my sound pod over my ears before walking towards the door, calling out over my shoulder.

'Better pack blondie, we're gonna be away for a few weeks.' I remembered a mission that had come in only that morning which was to take down a pack of wyverns and some forest vulcans that were causing disturbances around the Waas Forest. It would take us a week to travel there, plus a few days to track and eliminate all of the monsters, then another week to get home, maybe longer considering we'd have to make our own way past Clover Town where the train line ended. I mentally groaned at the thought of spending time on a train and cursed whoever decided it was a good idea to make all dragon slayers suffer from motion sickness. Thankfully, mine wasn't as bad as Natsu's, or he was a pussy. I'm going with the second option, because I pride myself in not showing how trains effect me, or cars. Or transport of any sort.

I felt heat rising under my coat just from the thought of it, and instead focused my mind on grabbing the mission before it was snagged by Elfman or Team Shadow Gear.

**Lucy's POV**

Okay, I guess we're going on a mission already.' I sighed, fingering one of my keys.

'Vigo!' I called out, immediately, there was a flash of gold light and Virgo stood before me, bowing slightly.

'Punishment Hime?' I frowned at her and was about to tell her no when Bickslows pervy laugh rang out.

'Wow Cosplayer Queen! You're more of a masochist than I thought!' I frowned and glared at him, before smiling evilly.

'Yes Virgo, punishment.' I nodded at her and watched as a look of pure happiness blended with evil flashed across her face before she bowed and grabbed Bickslow, pulling him into a head lock before practicing some other wrestling moves on him. Me and Ever laughed as he choked and spluttered, trying to call for his babies, but realised that they identified Virgo as part of the team, so wouldn't attack.

'Okay Virgo, thank you.' I giggled as she released Bickslow and left him on the floor, his clothes messed up and his mask halfway across the room, revealing his vivid and dark red eyes and the tattoo that spanned his face.

'Virgo, can you pack enough provisions to last us several weeks? That is, five of us.'

'Is Hime not going on a job with pink bastard and icicle butt?' Bickslow and Ever burst out laughing and Freed sniggered from behind another book at my spirit calling my team members by their new names.

'No Virgo, we're teaming up with these guys for a while, so do you mind taking care of my stuff?' I asked, pleading with her and smiling.

'Hime does not need to ask. I shall do anything for Hime-sama.' She bowed towards me once more, before facing the Raijinshuu.

'Do not hurt Hime-sama, or I will be angry.' She bowed to them before disappearing back to the celestial world.

'Sorry about that, she's over-protective. I think Loke's been influencing her.' I turned to face Bickslow and walked over, offering my hand to pull him up. I smiled as he looked slightly shocked as I stared into his eyes.

'That's why you gotta tone down the pervy-ness, okay Bix?' I said, laughing as he smirked up at me and winked.

**Bickslow's POV**

She looked at me. She looked at _me._ Not through my mask or with a single trace of nervousness or fear... only trust.

I pushed my hand through my hair and, noticing it was shaking slightly, clenched it into a tight fist.

_Damn cosplayer._ I thought, holding the mangled remnants of my metal grid mask.

Most people didn't like to look into my eyes without me wearing my mask due to the nature of my magic. I had complete control over it, but they still feared it. By wearing the mask, it gave them the illusion of security from me taking over their soul and controlling them.

They don't realise I hate doing it as much as they hate the idea of it. To me, it's like forcing myself into a pair or really tight shoes that have a million or so pins inside them. It hurt like hell, and was un-comfy.

But she just stared straight into my eyes and laughed, trusting me not to hurt her, trusting in my magic and control.

Even Ever and Freed were more wary around me with my mask off, the only person who seemed totally ok with it was Laxus.

I watched her as she argued with Freed about the foreshadowing the author of the book Freed currently held had used, and how it also has a hidden meaning regarding the representation of the authors own feelings towards their characters.

I listened and stared at her as Freed actually _backed down_ in an argument about a _book_!

Me and Ever exchanged shocked looks before cracking up simultaneously.

'What? Why are you laughing?' Lucy asked, staring into my eyes once again. I felt my breath hitch, and disguised it as a cough, before answering her as Ever was too busy wiping away tears.

'No one's ever managed to get Freed to back down in an argument about a book! Not even Levy!' Fred blushed slightly and glared at me, before harrumphing and sticking his nose back into the book, using Lucy's gale force glasses to finish it in record time.

'Come along Bickslow, Evergreen, we still have to pack.' Freed said, reluctantly handing Lucy her glasses and the pile of books he'd been unable to finish.

'I can take these with me if you want Freed, you can read in the train.' I watched as my friends face lit up eagerly, before he reined in his happiness to thank her politely, before scurrying out of her apartment.

'I'll see you later Lucy. Laxus will thought project when we need to meet at the station, so see you there!' Ever waved, following Freed out to go pack the immense amount of luggage she carried everywhere.

I coughed awkwardly, looking at the floor.

'Bickslow, are you alright?' She asked. I didn't need to look up to know she was smiling at me.

'Yeah... um... thanks for doing that. For Freed. None of us are the bookworm type, so... thanks for that.' I scratched the back of my head nervously and started fiddling with my broken mask.

'You don't need to thank me. I have the same issue as Freed, but at least I can talk to Levy easily. I get the feeling Freed distances himself from people, so I'm happy to be inside his inner circle.' I was shocked she'd noticed this. Not many people realise it, but Freed is just as afraid of being rejected because of his magic as I am. I coughed again before sniffing and beginning to walk towards the door, my babies hovering silently behind me for once.

'Hey Bickslow.' She called after me, making me turn around to face her, seeing her smiling at me.

'You've got lovely eyes.' I froze, staring at her in shock and confusion, before turning away and walking to the door. I paused at the door and called over my shoulder.

'Hey cosplayer! Call me Bix!' I shouted, before hurriedly exiting her apartment to pack for the mission.


	6. Chapter 6

**Lucy's POV**

I sat down behind the Raijinshuu and Laxus, because I was late thanks to someone forgetting till the last minute to thought project to me the time of the train leaving, I knew it wasn't right to start moaning about sitting by myself.

I was rummaging through my bag, searching for my book, when I heard a voice speak to me.

'Hey there, is this seat taken?' I looked up to see some guy staring down at me, trying to flex some pretty small muscles compared to that I've seen in Fairy Tail. For all their faults, all the men in my guild have some great muscle toning.

I opened my mouth to answer, when I heard Laxus's voice snap sharply.

'Yes it is. Now scram.' I watched as the guys face paled several shades as he turned to see Laxus towering over him, scowling as little bits of lightning started to crackle round his body. The guy stammered out an apology before literally running down the carriage.

I couldn't help but giggle as Laxus sat beside me, crossing his arms and glaring at every man that looked at me as they boarded the train.

'What? It's not funny blondie. They shouldn't be looking at you like that.' He said, glaring at some old guy who was leering at me. I shrugged and opened up my book to start reading.

'Well, you get used to it. Not that I _like_ getting eyed up by guys who think I'm a slut or something just cause I wear short skirts and tight tops, but I can't really complain, can I?'

'Yeah you damn well can! You shouldn't be judged by what you wear or look like. You need to be respected, and I don't like it when one of my team is disrespected. Especially by weaklings like them.' He said, glaring at a guy further up the carriage who'd turned around to get a glimpse of my chest.

'I suppose you're right. But I just learn to ignore it. If they try anything, that's when I get pissed off, but they can look all they want. They just wish they had a chance with me.' I grinned, winking up at him, before returning to my book.

I lurched forwards slightly as the train began to move off, and looked out the window to watch as the scenery began to speed past me.

**Laxus's POV**

I groaned quietly as the train sped up, and clutched onto the arm rests of my chair, my nails digging in so far they scraped against the wood beneath the foam.

I usually took a travel sickness pill before I got on the train, but with thought projecting to blondie because I'd forgotten to earlier, I didn't get the time to take it in private, so the sickness was worse than usual.

The train lurched over a bump in the track, and I moaned, closing my eyes tightly and clenching my teeth together.

'Laxus, are you alright?' Blondie whispered. I looked down to see her frowning up at me. I nodded and shut my eyes again as I caught a glimpse of the moving scenery outside.

_Oh God Laxus, don't you dare fucking hurl!_ I took short breaths, trying to stabilise my stomach, when I felt a cool hand placed on my forehead. I sighed at the contact, and felt my body relax slightly.

'Hey, do you want to go find a private compartment? That way the others don't have to see you like this.' She mumbled, moving her hand so it stroked through my hair. For some reason, my stomach quit turning as her fingers shuffled across my scalp.

I shook my head and slid lower down the seat, leaning my head down so she could carry on sifting her fingers through my hair.

'That's helping.' I muttered, shutting my eyes at the soothing sensation she caused. I heard her laugh quietly, and opened one eye to see what was so funny.

'Sorry, I sometimes do this with Natsu, if Erza hasn't knocked him out first, but I didn't expect it would work on you too. Come on, let's find a compartment. They usually give us one because Natsu looks like he's going to projectile vomit everywhere!' She giggled and stood up. I felt my nausea returning slowly at the loss of contact, but stood and staggered behind her.

'Hey guys, Laxus isn't feeling so good so we're going to find a private compartment to crash in, wanna come?' Freed had his head stuck in a book blondie had brought with her for him, and Ever was reading through a fashion and make-up magazine she'd subscribed to.

'Okay cosplayer!' Bix said, grinning and sticking his tongue out in his signature creepy face.

I looked up to see his babies dancing around in random patterns and felt like I was going to puke. I gently shoved blondie, letting her know to make a move on.

As we walked down the compartment, she whispered back to me.

'Okay Laxus, if this is going to work, I need you to look just as sick as Natsu does on transport, or enough so they think you'll puke in any second.' I grunted my agreement as I glared at all the men who's heads turned to follow the sway of blondies ass as she walked towards the conductor.

I laughed quietly as Bix's babies "accidently" smashed into a their heads on the way past.

**Bickslow's POV**

I glared from behind my mask at every man who dared look at cosplayer, the same as Laxus was, but I knew his glare wasn't at full capacity seeing as how sick he was.

Damn guy just wouldn't admit he had travel sickness.

I laughed as my babies took it into their own hands per se to smack against the heads of the men that leered at cosplayer, and any complaints about it were quickly quieted by me.

I heard what cosplayer said to Laxus about looking as sick as possible, and decided I'd help the illusion by grabbing on to him and holding him up. For a moment, Laxus glared at me, before understanding, and leaning his weight on me.

We both watched as cosplayer swayed up to the conductor, who gulped visibly as she approached.

I felt Laxus growl, and knew that I myself was quaking in annoyance at the guy. He was supposed to be working not looking down our team mates shirt, which she was making easier for him by crossing her arms under her breasts.

Then I realised what she was doing, and smirked.

'Chill Laxus. She's using it to her advantage. Look.' I watched as the conductor stammered and nodded, gesturing to the door as she smiled coyly at him and turning to wave at us to come forward.

As she skipped down the corridor of the private compartments carriage, we both glared at the conductor, who was too busy in his fantasy land that cosplayer had put him in to notice we were plotting his death.

'Come on guys! Here's an empty one!' Laxus pulled himself upright and walked towards her, swaying slightly with the movement of the train.

I smirked as I followed them and sat in the compartment as Laxus collapsed onto the chair, groaning.

Cosplayer sat next to him and began to fiddle with his hair. I watched in shock as Laxus seemed to calm down as her hand sifted through his hair while she pulled out a book and began to read, her hand lingering in his hair.

I smiled gently, completely unaware that cosplayer was watching me.

**Lucy's POV**

I smiled softly as I watched Bickslow's face stretch into a gentle smile, completely against his usual personality of perverted creep. I giggled slightly, causing both men to look at me.

'Laxus, lie down; my arm's hurting from stretching to reach your head.' He grunted and lie down, his head resting on my lap. My hand stroked through his soft hair, not feeling any sort of gel in it, despite it being spiky all the time.

I knew when he fell asleep when his breathing became quiet and steady.

'Hey Bix, you should smile like that more often you know. People would want to know you better, and you can take your mask off if you want. It would annoy me to hell and back to wear something like that every day.' I smiled up at him before looking down to read my book. I heard him taking off his mask and looked into his eyes, smiling at his confused and wary look.

'Bix, stop looking like I'm going to run away screaming. There's nothing that's going to make me leave, heck, I don't know if I can with this guys big head holding me down!' I winked at him before glancing down at Laxus's sleeping face.

'How do you do this cosplayer?' I heard Bickslow ask. I looked up at him, confused.

'Laxus never admits he has motion sickness and never asks for help with it. Nobody except Laxus is cool with me having my mask off and acting like it's nothing. How do you make us trust you so easily?' He was frowning, and his babies stayed silent for a change, hovering behind him. I smiled gently as I carried on playing with Laxus's hair.

'That's easy. You're my family. Cheesy, I know. Natsu might be rubbing off on me, but I trust Fairy Tail with everything, and that includes you guys. So maybe that makes you trust me.'

'But after everything we've done-' I interrupted him by snapping my book closed, causing Laxus to mumble in his sleep, before sighing as my hand massaged his scalp.

'Everyone has already forgiven you for that. You've proved to us all that you regret what happened, and have shown us that you've changed. The only people who haven't forgiven you for it, is yourselves.' Bickslow frowned before nodding slowly.

'Never knew you were so smart cosplayer.' He said, grinning and winking at me. I raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly.

'I'm probably the only one in the guild who can compete with Freed on the amount of books they've read Bix.' I stuck my tongue out at him and reopened my book, going back to stroking Laxus's hair as the train chugged along. After another five minutes of silence, I looked up to see Bickslow had fallen asleep, his head resting against the wall of the compartment and his black-blue streaked hair sticking out at odd angles because of the hood he usually covered it with.

I smiled gently before someone opened the door. I looked up to see Freed and Ever standing in the doorway looking at me in shock. I gestured for them to be quiet as they slid the door shut and sat down opposite me. Laxus's body took up the rest of my seat.

'Lucy Heartfilia, you are an incredible woman.' Freed said, looking at Laxus's head resting in my lap, and Bickslow's uncovered face. Ever nodded in agreement as I grinned at them, winking before returning to read my book.


	7. Chapter 7

**Freed's POV**

Finally, we'd arrived at Clover Town. From here on out, we'd be walking to Waas Forest or hitching a ride, though I got a feeling that Laxus would want us to walk all the way judging by how bad his motion sickness had been, and how embarrassed he was that Lucy had helped calm him.

She was truly remarkable. Not only had she broken down Laxus's defences against people outside of the Thunder God Tribe, but she'd also managed to get under Bickslow's mask.

I smiled gently at the arguing group before me. Bickslow and Ever were arguing about him calling Lucy Cosplayer, with Laxus agreeing with Ever, then Lucy pointing out calling her blondie all the time wasn't much better, then both of the men had Ever and Lucy ganging up on them.

I laughed to myself, ignoring Laxus's questioning glance in my direction.

'Everyone, we should start walking, don't you agree Laxus-sama?' I said, stepping forth, carrying my bag over one shoulder and my other hand resting on the hilt of my rapier.

Laxus sent a final glare towards the two giggling women before nodding gruffly and turning, his cloak billowing out behind him as he stormed off, swinging his heavy bag over his shoulders.

'What about you Freed? Don't you think they should call Lucy by her name rather than the nasty nicknames they've given her?' Ever asked, grinning mischievously. I ensured my face remained stoic as I replied.

'Laxus-sama may do what he wishes, but Bickslow should show the proper respect to his team mate.' Bickslow protested over the sounds of Laxus's guffawing, when Lucy piped up to argue with me.

'But Freed, don't you believe Laxus shouldn't be a hypocrite?' I frowned at her question.

'Laxus-sama could never stoop to such a common fault. He is above such things of hypocrisy.' I watched as she smirked evilly, glancing at Ever.

'Then don't you think that he isn't living up to your expectations by degrading me with the nickname "blondie" when he himself is blonde?' I sputtered, unsure of what to say, and glanced at Laxus, begging for help.

'Well, if he can call me blondie than I can call him something too.' Lucy grinned evilly, before grabbing Ever's hand and running ahead with her, both of them giggling.

I noticed they'd left their luggage and was about to call out to them, when Lucy's spirit, Virgo appeared, grabbing the bags and disappearing back into the spirit world, leaving us to carry their own bags.

Laxus growled, before pulling his bag further up his shoulders and storming after the girls, muttering under his breath as he jerked his sound pod over his ears.

Bickslow walked beside me as we walked to catch up to the girls, who were again talking about the latest make-up Ever had read about in her magazine.

I heard Bickslow chuckle beside me before he began his teasing.

'Freed got beaten in an argument by Cosplayer!' He howled, laughing as his babies repeated his words. "Beaten! Beaten!" I frowned, glaring at him, before quickly walking to be nearer Laxus.

Suddenly, I saw a golden glow of sparks next to Lucy, and say the recognizable orange hair of a certain spirit all of us were familiar with.

As he threw his arm over Lucy's shoulder and leaned into whisper in her ear, I heard both Bickslow and Laxus growl, quickening their pace to catch up to the three.

I smiled to myself, knowing I would have to restrain my team mates from hurting her celestial spirit.

**Evergreen's POV**

'So what are you going to nickname Laxus then?' I giggled. Lucy was bringing out my more mischievous, girly side that I'd managed to suppress, being around a team of men was so boring sometimes, and I loved Lucy being with us. She just managed to relax everyone with a smile and a laugh somehow.

She laughed and smirked evilly, before whispering in my ear. I gasped, before bursting out in laughter.

'Oh he's gonna hate that!' I laughed, my arm still linked with hers as she nodded in agreement, still laughing as we walked out of the town and on to the dirt track that we would be walking on for the next few days.

Suddenly, Loke appeared in a shower of golden light beside Lucy, and threw his arm over her shoulder to whisper in her ear. He looked really serious, and Lucy's face turned to look at him in shock.

'What? Are you sure?' She asked, sounding stunned and panicked. At that point, the guys caught up with us, glaring at Loke's arm over Lucy's shoulders.

'What's wrong Lucy?' I asked, frowning at her now serious face as she shook Loke's arm off of her.

'Okay Loke, thanks. I'll talk to you later.' He nodded, turning to look at Laxus, Bix and Freed, before disappearing.

'Lucy, what's happened?' I asked her, as she started to bite on her lip nervously. She turned and smiled up at me.

'Yeah, he just came to let me know there's some issues in the spirit world at the moment. I can't say much else. Hopefully it'll be resolved soon though.' She said, frowning and walking ahead, lost in thought.

I looked at the others to see their own faces contorted with worry for our celestial mage.

'Why can't she tell us?' Laxus asked, growing frustrated, before Freed interrupted him, holding him back as he was about to charge after Lucy.

'From what I've read so far, celestial mages are not entrusted with all the information from the spirit world, and if they are, they aren't allowed to tell anyone else, no matter what the circumstances, or risk being stripped of their contracts and keys. The spirit world has its own rules and ruler, and Lucy must abide by their rules as well as our own. We can't push her on this Laxus-sama.' He explained in a low voice. We started to quickly walk to catch up to Lucy, who was still lost in thought, chewing on her lower lip as she fiddled with her hair.

I skipped up to Lucy and linked my arm with hers, hugging her tightly and smiling at her. She looked at me, and smiled back gratefully, giving my hand a squeeze before grinning.

'Come on slowpokes!' She called back to the guys. 'We've got a job to do!' I think we all knew she was trying to hide her worry for our sake, but we pretended to go along with it for her sake, and they all smiled as they jogged to catch up with us.

'Who you calling slow, cosplayer?' "Cosplayer! Cosplayer!"

'Tch! Shut up blondie. You need a head start with your tiny legs, you'd never keep up.'

'I concur with Laxus-sama. We are faster than you believe Lucy.'

Me and Lucy grinned to each other before we started running along the road, easily creating a large gap, as the guys still carried their luggage over their shoulders.

We laughed again as they shouted for us to stay in sight when we saw them easily catching up, looking odd with their bags bouncing around their shoulders, banging their heads every few minutes.

**Lucy's POV**

I knew they were playing along for me, and I was grateful for it. If I was with team Natsu, they'd have continued pestering me for the information till I told Erza to knock them out. Even then, she would try and sneak the knowledge from me, though would give up when seeing how distressed I was getting.

Yet the Raijinshuu seemingly accepted that I couldn't tell them anything, and I was glad they didn't press the matter.

_Glad I lent Freed those books on my magic. He probably held them back for me, and explained. I think I'll buy him a new book, or go and visit my Father's library again. All of the books belong to me anyway._ I smiled at the thought of taking Freed with me there, imagining his face upon entering my Father's old office and seeing the walls filled with books from floor to ceiling.

I felt my mood darken a bit at the memory of my Father, and felt sad that I never got the chance to have a true relationship with him, but I was happy that he had finally recovered from my Mother's death before he passed away himself.

That reminded me of what Loke had told me. I brushed it off as nothing, but really, it was incredibly serious. I couldn't summon any spirit other than Loke and Virgo till he told me otherwise, and I knew this would be a problem with the job we were going to do. I needed to try and think of a solution so that I could help my spirits.

Before it was too late.


	8. Chapter 8

**Erza's POV**

I sighed and turned to glare at Natsu and Gray as they began to argue between themselves yet again. They immediately shut up, but glared at each other when they thought I wasn't watching.

'I miss Lushy.' Happy said suddenly, and we were silent as we all thought about Lucy.

I hadn't realised it, but she managed to diffuse any argument between Natsu and Gray before I even noticed, and I only found out now because they couldn't go five minutes without starting something.

'We all do Happy. But Lucy is upset at the moment, and needs us to leave her alone.' I said, hiding my sadness as much as I could, but I wasn't fooling anyone.

Both Natsu and Gray looked incredibly depressed. They knew it was their fault Lucy wasn't with us, and every time someone mentioned her name, or a girl with golden blonde hair walked past, they seemed to lose all energy and motivation. It was only because of my punches that they stopped before becoming molten puddles on the floor.

'We didn't mean to do it.' Gray whispered, staring at his hands before burying his face in them. Natsu just looked at the floor, his face devoid of all emotion, yet I could see the turmoil behind his eyes.

'Lucy knows it was an accident. She'll forgive you, but you need to understand you really have upset her. Natsu, don't interrupt me. You both need to be more careful using your magic. You're overly destructive, which is sometimes a good thing if we need to destroy something, but you both go over the top. How many buildings did you destroy last job? It wasn't even a fighting job, and you only went along to be Lucy's back up, but you ended up having the entire reward spent on repairs to the towns buildings and Lucy had to go on a solo job to pay her rent. Think before you use your magic, ok? Just stop, and think, do I need to do this? What should I avoid? If you start thinking like that, Lucy might forgive you sooner, because she'll see that you've learnt to be more careful.' They perked up a bit at the end of my speech, and exchanged glances before nodding at each other.

'Though I hate the idea of working with you Natsu, I'll do it if it means we get Lucy back.' Gray said, staring at Natsu with such intensity that I didn't know he had in him. Natsu scoffed, staring straight back at him.

'You think I want to work with you? I'll do anything to make Lucy forgive me, and then we can go on a job together.'

'Aye!' Happy shouted, punching his fist into the air before slyly moving his narrowed gaze towards me.

'Erza has to be careful of buildings too than?' I felt my face flush red before I composed myself and nodded.

'Of course. Although, if I see a cake shop has been harmed, I cannot promise I will hold back retribution.' Gray and Natsu exchanged glances before chuckling and running away from my punches.

_Lucy, please be alright._

**Makarov's POV**

I sighed, filling out another form that requested damage repairs from Team Natsu two months ago. I hoped they learnt something from this separation from Lucy, first and foremost how to control their destructiveness.

I groaned as I looked up at the looming tower of paperwork. If Laxus were here, he'd have half of it done by now. He might hate paperwork, but he was damn good at getting through it all.

I smiled at the thought of my grandson with Lucy. I knew she'd be good for him, and might push him into accepting Fairy Tail even more than he's learnt how to since the Grand Magic Games.

I could tell he had a new found respect towards Lucy from my conversation with him when he was eating at her house with the Raijinshuu, and wondered what else she could teach him.

The Thunder God Tribe were notorious for their separation from the rest of the guild, and I hoped Lucy would help break down those walls they had placed up to protect themselves from harm.

I heard a ruckus downstairs, and eagerly leapt from my desk, desperate to escape the paperwork for a few minutes at least.

I snuck downstairs to see Gajeel fighting with Elfman, and laughed as more and more guild members got dragged into the brawl, tables and chairs flying everywhere, yet a certain blue haired solid script mage was protected from flying objects by the only present male dragon slayer.

'Master! Have you finished your paperwork already? I could have sworn I sent up the next batch from last month only five minutes ago.' I slowly turned to see Mira sweetly smiling down at me.

'Ah, Mira. Yes, I was just about to- oh, have you noticed how Gajeel seems to be hanging around Levy particularly today?' I watched has her eyes homed in on the two mages, analysing how Gajeel protected her from the flying debris, and I smirked as she grinned before moving away.

I chuckled, taking a gulp of the beer in my hand. I'd managed to distract her for at least 10 minutes. I could already here her muttering to herself about their babies.

'Master! Paperwork!' She called out, before walking over to the bookworm. I scowled and drank the last of my beer, before heading upstairs.

**Lucy's POV**

It was late at night, and everyone was asleep in their tents. It was my turn on look out, so i decided it was the perfect time to call out Loke for that talk.

He appeared before I called to him, and I smiled sadly at him.

'How is he?' I whispered, not wishing for our conversation to be heard by the others.

'Not as good as we'd like him to be, but we've managed to stabilise his condition.' Loke sighed, running his hand through his hair. He had bags under his eyes, and I could tell he was exhausted.

'This is bad. I'll try and think of a solution.' Loke looked at me sadly.

'I'm sorry Lucy, everyone else is busy trying to help, I know you'll need us, you're on a job, so I'll try and get some of the others to-' I interrupted him, and smiled.

'No. I know they are needed in the celestial world more than here right now. I have a strong team with me, so I should be alright. Besides, I have my whip, and if it gets too much for me, I'll call on Virgo. You look exhausted Loke. Go get some rest.' He smiled at me and shook his head, taking my hands and kneeling before me.

'I promised I'd protect you. I promised _him_ I'd protect you. I will not go back on that promise, especially with how he is right now. I shall fight beside you when the time comes.' I smiled and thanked him, pulling him upright and hugging him.

'I'll find a way to help, I swear Loke. Now go back and rest. If you're going to help, you need to be at full strength. Say hello to my old friend, would ya?' I winked and smiled sadly at him. He laughed quietly and ruffled my hair, before disappearing.

I sat down and stared up at the sky, identifying the constellations, easily spotting the twelve zodiacs, and some of the silver keys constellations.

That's when I spotted one I hadn't thought about as of yet, and gasped.

'That's it!' I whispered, staring up at the constellation of a silver key I hadn't yet found; that of the Phoenix.


	9. Chapter 9

**Laxus's POV**

I glanced over at blondie, making sure she was within all of our sights. After we'd arrived at the town and had spoken to the Mayor about our request, blondie told us that because of some trouble in the spirit world, she could only summon two spirits, and even then, she was unwilling to do so as they were needed there.

I was going to pressure her into telling us what was up, but a rare angry glare from Freed was directed at me, and I shut up, walking off fuming as lightning started to spark out of my control.

It was the next day, and early afternoon. We'd already taken out most of the Vulcans, using Ever and blondie as bait. I had to admit, blondie was holding up really well without calling a single spirit once.

I'd heard a lot of mages scoff at celestial mages, complaining that their spirits did all the work and they never actually did anything, only using them as shields.

I knew blondie hated people saying crap like that, I'd seen her blow her top at people insulting her spirits, but seeing her fight by herself I saw the extent of her skills.

That weird whip she has moves in impossible directions, and she has complete control over the shining length as it extended and shortened at a flick of her wrist.

I raised a hand, causing everyone to halt as I heard a noise ahead of us.

We had to be especially careful now, as there were only Wyverns left, and they were pretty tough to crack if you ran into one, let alone a pack of them.

I walked up wind, silently advancing and looking through the trees and undergrowth, to see the entire pack lounging in a large clearing, either sleeping or tearing chunks of meat from smaller forest animals.

I crept back to my team and explained the situation.

'What do you want to do Laxus-sama?' Freed asked, waiting for me to come up with a plan.

'I've got an idea.' Blondie whispered eagerly. I nodded at her to carry on, and felt it was a sound plan, before we put it into action, I asked Ever to stick with her as back up.

She looked at me as though I was an idiot as if to say "What did you think I was going to do?" I chuckled to myself, and watched as she followed blondie.

Freed had already gone ahead, writing runes around our side of the clearing, making an invisible wall, and me and Bix crept to the sides of the clearing, waiting for Freed's signal.

**Freed's POV**

I finally completed the runes and mumbled the spell beneath my breath:

'Dark Ecriture: Wings!' The black magic wings appeared on my back and I shot into the sky, signalling to the others that I was ready.

Instantly, I heard Laxus and Bickslows shouts from opposite sides of the clearing.

"Baryon Formation!"

"Lightning Dragons Roar!"

The wyverns on either side were taken out by the attacks immediately, leaving less than half of the pack, all now awake and enraged. I quickly landed and ran to meet with Lucy and Ever.

I could already hear Lucy casting her spell and hoped that she would be able to pull it off without Gemini's help.

**Evergreen's POV**

I watched Lucy as she took a deep breath, and a giant golden magic circle formed beneath her as she began to chant, her hair raising and blowing around her face due to the pure magical energy she exuded.

_"Survey the heavens, Open the heavens_

_All the stars, far and wide_

_Show me thy appearance_

_With such shine_

_Oh Tetrabiblos_

_I am the ruler of the stars_

_Aspect become complete_

_Open thy malevolent gate_

_Oh 88 stars of the heaven_

_Shine!_

**_Urano Metria_**_!"_

My mouth was open in shock at the immense amount of magical energy that was pouring from her body, as orbs of light showered from the darkened sky, slamming into the wyverns behind the barrier Freed had placed, quickly illuminating them in a matter of seconds.

I looked at Lucy to see her breathing heavily, and blood was dripping from her nose.

I shouted at her, and tried to grab her to shake her out of the spell, but an invisible barrier of energy had formed around her, shoving me back.

'FREED!' I screamed, hearing him running towards us. He burst through the trees, taking in the situation and quickly pulling out his rapier to write his runes.

However, before he could do so, the final ball of light from the spell smashed into the last wyvern, and Lucy collapsed to the ground, spent of energy and panting heavily.

I rushed forwards and grabbed her head, laying it on my lap and stroking back her sweat soaked hair.

'You idiot! You told us you could handle it alone!' I felt tears streaming down my face, and saw her smile up at me.

'Hey, I'm alive aren't I?' She grinned, winking up at me before concentrating on breathing again. I looked up at Freed who was as shocked as I was at her words.

'I'm kidding, okay? If I couldn't do it by myself, the circle wouldn't even of appeared. I just need a couple minutes to catch my breath.' She gasped out smiling up at me as I used my handkerchief to wipe her blood from her face.

'Lucy you shouldn't have done it. If we'd known it would cause your body so much strain we'd have not let you-' She cut Freed off with a glare.

'No, I would have done it anyway. A week ago I wouldn't have been able to get half as far as getting to the chant. I've been meditating a lot, so I'm better than I would have been a week ago.' She smiled at us.

'Lucy!' We heard a voice appear right next to use, and saw Loke standing there staring at his master with shock and anger.

'Hey Loke, I'm fine, just sleepy.' He knelt down beside her and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly.

'You should have summoned me, I could have helped! Why didn't you?'

'You're needed to run the spirit world at the moment, so get your stupid kitten ass back there and do your damned job, you hear me? I'm fine!' Loke frowned, and disappeared before reappearing seconds later with a small vial of a shining liquid.

Gently he opened her mouth and allowed a single drop to fall between her lips.

'Leave that to work for five minutes and she should be walking, but don't let her use any magic for a week. And that includes this.' Loke told me, picking up her celestial whip and placing it in my hands. I nodded as Lucy glared at him.

Suddenly, I heard Laxus and Bix smashing through the trees.

'Lucy!' They both shouted, causing everyone to look up in surprise.

'Well, at least now we know that they do actually know my name huh?' She joked, laughing at the two panicking mages.

**Bickslow's POV**

I watched as her spell destroyed the last wyvern and waited for the barrier to be dispelled to see the rest of the team walk into the clearing fill with defeated wyverns, but it remained in place.

After two minutes of waiting, I knew something was up, and started to jog over to where cosplayer and Ever would be, speeding up as my heart raced for no reason other than worry.

I burst through the trees, seeing cosplayer lying on the ground, her head resting in Ever's lap and Loke clutching at her hand with a small vial of golden liquid in the other.

'Lucy!' I shouted without thinking, and noticed that myself and Laxus had arrived at the same time, calling out her name simultaneously.

'Well, at least now we know that they do actually know my name huh?' I scowled at her words as I walked over to Freed, standing behind Loke's kneeling form.

'She'll be fine. Just give her five minutes.' Loke said, standing up and pocketing the vial.

'Loke, go home, they need you.' Lucy told him, grinning up at the spirit. I watched on as he nodded, before disappearing in a shower of golden light.

'Damn it Blondie! You said you could handle it!' Laxus shouted at her, sparks of lightning snapping off his body in his rage.

'Yeah yeah, calm down Sparky. I'm fine.' I felt my lips twitch at the name, and noticed Freed and Ever also trying to hide their smiles. I glanced at Laxus to see his face contorted in shock and disbelief, and couldn't help but burst out laughing. As soon as I went, so did everyone else, and our laughs filled the area as Laxus watched, confused.

'Did you just call me sparky?' He asked, frowning. Cosplayer gasped for breath between laughter and nodded, giggling. Me and Freed both sat down on the floor, wiping the tears from our eyes as Laxus crossed his arms and sulked.

Finally, we'd calmed down enough to notice cosplayer was forcing herself to sit up, Ever helping buy supporting her back as she winced.

'Guess I need to meditate some more.' She mumbled, stretching out her arms and smiling at Ever.

'You should be more careful cosplayer. I don't want to deal with Makarov if anything happens to you.' I muttered, my babies agreeing with me "Careful! Careful!", as I pictured the Masters rage if we allowed one of his children of the guild to come to harm. Though he didn't have favourites, we all knew the cheery blonde held a special place in his heart.

'Sorry guys, but I'm fine. Whatever that was that Loke gave me, its working. My legs feel like they can move in a couple more minutes.' She grinned and I shook my head.

'Seriously cosplayer. Don't do that again, at least not until you have your spirits approval.' Her face went serious and she nodded in agreement.

**Freed's POV**

I frowned as we walked back to the town, Lucy leaning on Ever slightly.

Something that she'd said had bothered me greatly, and I wanted to read up on one of the books she'd let me read, just to be sure.

'Hey guys, now that we've done this mission, do you think we could make a detour before going home? I've got to get something from my old home.' Ever and Bix looked towards me, and I nodded, looking to Laxus to see if he agreed. He grunted his agreement and Lucy grinned back at us, before turning to talk to Ever again.

'How do they even talk about make-up and clothes for so long?' Laxus muttered under his breath beside me.

'I believe they've moved on to shoes and shopping.' Bix and Laxus groaned simultaneously at the mention of shopping and I chuckled at their reaction.

'I had no idea Ever liked to shop.' Laxus mumbled, his sound pod resting around his neck.

'Dude, she's a girl. It's part of their DNA. They can't help it.' "DNA! DNA!" Bix said, sticking his tongue out as his babies circled his head, repeating his words.

'Come on guys! If we want to get there before nightfall we'd better hurry! I can't wait to sleep on a mattress again!' Lucy moaned at Ever, now walking more independently than before.

'Better hurry, can't deal with that whinney voice much longer.' Laxus grumbled, pulling his sound pod over his ears and upping the volume as he sped up, his cloak hooked over his finger as he threw it over his shoulder.

Me and Bix exchanged a smirk, before catching up to the others and following Lucy to the fallen Heartfilia Konzern.


	10. Chapter 10

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hey everyone! Thanks again for the reviews and everything! Sorry, I would have updated earlier but I've been enjoying the sun, writing outside in the old fashioned pen and paper way, before typing it up and adding to it! I will be publishing another chapter later today, but I need to share the computer, so you'll have to wait a few hours! Please enjoy, there are some cute moments here for you, and a bit of a sad ending, but I'll make it better, don't you worry! ;) xx

* * *

**Evergreen's POV**

'This town's amazing! I love the houses!' I said, staring in awe at each of the beautiful buildings and their immaculate gardens. Lucy suddenly started chuckling beside me, and I frowned at her.

'What?' I huffed, crossing my arms in annoyance and giving her a haughty look.

'This isn't a town Ever, this was where the servants used to live. You've been walking on the Heartfilia grounds for over twenty minutes now!' I felt my mouth drop open as I turned and looked around me, taking in the large expanse of countryside, before looking back to see Freed, Bix and Laxus's faces were expressing their own form of surprise- though Laxus tried to hide it. We'd never realised Lucy had been this rich.

'Wow. You were loaded cosplayer!' "Loaded! Loaded!" Lucy giggled at Bix and his dolls, who'd come forward to dance around her head as they repeated her words. She reached up and petted the heads of his babies, making them giggle in their high pitched squeal, before they flew off to Bix's side.

'No, my parents were rich. Besides, it's not mine now, all the lands and stocks and stuff belong to the Junelle family or the government, though most of the house is still mine, and all of the furniture and stuff inside it.' We looked at her curiously before Fred asked what was on all of our minds.

'What do you mean by "most of it" being yours?' She smiled before skipping away, calling out to us over her shoulder.

'You'll have to wait and see!' She laughed again, throwing her arms out as she ran to the top of the small hill we'd been climbing, and stopping at the top, turning back to face us with a wide grin on her face, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she waited for us to catch up to her.

We stood beside her, looking down in astonishment at the huge, glittering white mansion that was still over half a mile away.

'Welcome to my old home!' She said, grinning, before grabbing mine and Freed's hands and pulling us down the hill, Laxus and Bix quickly following behind. We just followed her, still in shock.

We'd known she'd been rich before she ran away and joined Fairy Tail, but seeing all this... it just made it all too _real_. How could someone raised in this kind of environment be so nice? I'd developed my own snobbish attitude to deal with the rich assholes we usually took jobs with, so I knew how people who were raised with a silver spoon in their mouths treated people "beneath them". But Lucy had never acted like she was better than us. She seemed to even look _up_ to us.

I smiled gently, and tightened my hold on Lucy's hand and joined in her laughter as we ran forwards.

I made myself a promise then; that I would always be there for Lucy, even if she didn't become a member for the Raijinshuu, I would make sure our friendship would carry on, and I'd protect her from any sadness.

**Laxus's POV**

Who knew blondie was this rich when she was a brat? No wonder she liked shopping so much. Then again, according to Bix, every girl liked shopping. Don't know how, it's so damn boring.

I looked over to blondie, seeing her grinning from ear to ear like an idiot, and couldn't help but allow my face to twitch with a small smile.

She seemed to have gotten over the loss of her letters, but if I looked at her when she didn't notice me doing so, I could still see the fresh pain and sadness from their loss.

Normally, I'd have scoffed at such a pathetic reason for being sad. I would have seen it as a weakness, and wouldn't even have considered helping blondie. But for some reason, I understood her, how she felt. When Gramps threw my Dad out of the guild, I hated him, and all of Fairy Tail. I understand now he did it to protect everyone from Ivan, and now I didn't even consider him as my Dad, just the evil guy who shoved a lacrima behind my eyes when I was a kid.

But back then, I had no one I could talk to, so I understood blondie's loneliness, and the need to have someone to understand; the desperation to just let everything out.

If I'd have thought of writing it all down, maybe I wouldn't have turned out to be such a jerk and ruin things for the guild, before realising they were my family.

_Tch! Shut up Laxus. Now you're thinking about crappy feelings and nakama. You're gonna end up like the pink headed flame idiot if you let this carry on. Jeez, blondie's getting under my skin already. _

'Hey Sparky! Hurry up!' She shouted out to me, laughing as she dragged Freed and Ever down the road, Bix's babies hovering around her head, turned to face me. "Hurry up! Hurry up!" I blinked in shock, they usually only copied Bix unless he felt close and comfortable around the person... I grinned at my team mate, who looked shocked before blushing to himself.

_Seems blondie's getting under his skin too_. I thought to myself, and growled slightly, before forcing myself to stop.

_What the hell Laxus? Since when do you care about who Bix likes? Especially blondie! You just want to see how strong she is, find out if she'll fight you. Jeez! Don't grow a fucking heart now you blonde headed idiot! _I groaned almost silently, and ignored the questioning look Freed shot at me before he was jerked forwards by blondie again.

We were now walking up the circular drive and had reached the front door, blondie was grinning like an idiot as she threw the doors open.

I grunted as I looked in the huge entrance hall, and pulled my sound pod over my ears, drowning my raging thoughts in the steady beat of my music.

**Lucy's POV**

I watched their jaws drop as they took in the huge entrance hall and smiled. I could tell Laxus was impressed, though he hid it really well.

'Okay guys, I'll show you what I meant by owning most of it.' I smiled as I lead them upstairs and down the right of the upper floors.

'My Father had gotten in over his head in debt, so he owed a lot of people money, most of which was from the government. Not really known for loans, but Dad was very charismatic, and had friends in high places. So after his death, they said they could seize the house, or I could do something else with it. I decided to convert one half of the house for use by a department of the government.'

I stopped before the nursery door before throwing it open.

'Hey guys! Look who's here!' I shouted out, before being swarmed with a tonne of kids calling out my name.

'Lucy-sama! You're back!' I laughed as they climbed up my legs and pulled on my clothes.

'Lucy-sama, can we play with Plue, pretty please!' A small girl with silvery blue hair pleaded, her small face pouting. All the other kids faces lit up and shouted out that they wanted to play with Plue as well, and some people call out for Loke and Virgo, who were both surprisingly good with kids. I smiled and called out all the requested spirits, who moved off to play with the children.

I looked up as the supervisor walked over to me and hugged me tightly to her chest.

'It's good to see you again Miss Heartfilia.' She smiled warmly as she clutched both my hands.

'Please Julia, call me Lucy. These are my friends, Freed, Evergreen, Bickslow and Laxus. We'll be staying in the private half of the house tonight, I hope you don't mind?' She shook her head, before smiling warmly up at my team mates.

'Any friend of Miss Lucy is welcome. It is your home Miss Lucy, please don't ask me permission. We are all indebted to you, and the children adore you.' She smiled again before running off to break up a fight that had begun between two of the older children.

'So this is what you meant! But Lucy, who are these kids?' Ever asked, looking around the huge nursery that was twice the size of my apartment.

'I had this entire half of the house converted into an orphanage. It can take up to 300 kids maximum, and keeps them till they reach 16 or so, then I help them find jobs, or if they have magical abilities, I introduce them to mages that specialise in that field and put in a good word for them when they want to join a guild. So far, only this half is converted, but I'll probably convert it totally into an orphanage.' I looked up at their shocked faces and smiled.

'What? I did inherit some money from my Mother. Did you think I spent it all on clothes and crap?' I laughed as I led them towards the private section of the house. One of Bix's dolls was floating by my head, and I whispered something to it, before it hovered back to tell Bix, who grinned, sticking his tongue out and winking behind his mask as he held a thumb up.

'Okay, here it is.' I said, stopping before a couple of doors and turning to Freed, before smirking.

'Stay calm Freed, ok?' He seemed to be insulted at my comment, and confused.

'I have no idea what you're talking about Lucy. I'm always calm.' I grinned and looked up to Bix.

'Dinner says he faints in 5 seconds.' Bix shook his head.

'Nah, make it two.' Everyone else looked puzzled, before I opened the doors and allowed Freed to see behind me into my Fathers old study.

His eyes widened, sparks seeming to shoot out of them, before his mouth flew open before he fell backwards in less than two seconds, right into Bix's waiting arms.

**Bickslow's POV**

I laughed as I grabbed Freed, stopping him from smashing his green head against the marble floor, and looked up at cosplayer.

'You owe me dinner queenie!' She laughed with Ever, who was trying to wipe tears from her eyes at Freed's over the top reaction.

'I guess I'm cooking tonight.' She said, smiling as I carried Freed over to a sofa and lay him down on it. He woke up, looked around him, before collapsing again after squeaking like a mouse.

'Wow, you sure know how to handle Freed blondie.' Laxus muttered, throwing himself down in a chair, raising an eyebrow and smirking at cosplayer.

'You do realise, he's going to worship you as much as he does me now, right?' Cosplayer frowned, before shaking her head.

'I just wanted to thank him, for trying to understand my magic, and explaining it to you guys for me. There's a lot I can't say, so I was grateful he did it for me from what he got from my books... so yeah.' She blushed slightly and I smiled at her embarrassment.

I watched as Freed sat up straight, waking up again and looking around him, his eyes wide and literally sparkling as he stared at the ceiling to floor book cases, before his eyes rested on cosplayer.

Before he could say anything, she smiled evilly, and pointed up. We all looked up to see a balcony above us, with even more book cases filled with books and papers.

I heard Freed starting to hyperventilate as he spotted the second floor filled with books, somehow managing to stay conscious this time around, though I could see his eyes roving across the books like a hungry wolf, calculating how long it would take him to tear his way through them.

Suddenly, I heard cosplayer squeak as he threw himself across the room, and grabbed onto her, encircling her tightly into a bone crushing embrace. I glared at him and felt my hands form into fists, before I stopped myself from launching myself at him.

_What the fuck Bix? Clam the hell down! He can hug cosplayer for this. Jeez, this is that guys HEAVEN! STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM HUGGING HER DAMNIT!_ I gritted my teeth and forced myself to calm down, and glanced at Laxus to see his own fists clenched, and his face averted as he ground his teeth together, adamantly listening to his sound pod.

'Lucy-sama, I am and forever will be your loyal servant! You are the kindest most wonderful woman I've ever met! I now hold you in as higher regard as Laxus-sama!' He blubbered as he knelt and grasped her hands, staring up into her face as though she was a goddess.

I heard Laxus growl and I turned to glare at him. I stopped, suddenly shocked at myself.

_Bix, you love Laxus! Not in that way, but he accepts you, was the first to accept you! If he likes cosplayer, you gotta back off man! You owe him that much at least-_I cut off my train of thought and stared at Laxus, carefully watching his reactions to cosplayer showing Freed the books and explaining the sorting system.

Within five minutes, Freed was sitting on the floor with huge piles of books surrounding him like a fort, happily devouring through them with Cosplayer's gale force glasses after he'd used his magic to make them high-speed.

I watched as Cosplayer grabbed Ever and dragged her out, leading her out of the room. Me and Laxus followed, knowing Freed would happily live and die in that room.

Cosplayer lead us down another long corridor and into a large bedroom and to a door.

'Ready Ever?' She grinned before throwing open the doors.

Ever screamed and ran in, screaming even more as she spun in circles. Me and Laxus stepped forward to look in.

'Tch. It's just clothes.' Laxus muttered, turning away uninterested.

'These are not JUST CLOTHES!' Ever screamed at him, grabbing at the material and stroking it reverently, she was in a daze and her green eyes were glazed over, and tears of joy leaked out of the corners of her eyes. Me and Laxus exchanged a look; neither of us had ever seen her this happy.

'This material was imported from Enca; a country ON THE OTHER SIDE OF EARTHLAND!' She screamed again, before running down the never ending closet.

'LUCY I LOVE YOUUU!' She screamed over her shoulder, grabbing at several different dresses as she squealed happily. She smiled sheepishly before gesturing for us to leave.

'Sorry guys, I don't have a treasure trove for you, I didn't own any dolls except Michelle, and my Dad despised magic, so there's no artefacts I can offer. Want to help me start making dinner? We'll be eating with the kids if that's alright?' Laxus grunted his agreement and I grinned at her.

'No worries cosplayer, could never replace my babies. Besides, I'm a pretty good cook.' "Good cook! Good cook!" My babies repeated as they circled her head, making her laugh as she tickled them gently, making them laugh again.

'Well come on then!' She laughed, grabbing one of my hands and one of Laxus's, yanking us out of the room and down the stairs to a huge kitchen that seemed to shine.

'Okay, lets get started!' She said, rolling up her sleeves and pulling a huge metal pan out of a cupboard, grunting under the weight of it.

I quickly stepped forwards, bumping into Laxus as we both moved to help her.

He glared at me, and shoved forward after giving a quiet growl. I felt my shoulders drop in defeat.

_You've gotta let him have her Bix. You owe him, everything..._


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Here you go guys! As promised! I'll try ad upload another tonight, but it's late and I've got reading to do, but there will be another at some point tomorrow, I promise! I just can't seem to stop writing this, which I know you appreciate from the amazing comments you've been leaving! Truly, thank you so much for all the reviews! You have no idea how much they spur me on into writing more for you all! Please carry on enjoying my story and thanks once more! :) xx

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**Laxus's POV**

_Damn it Laxus! What the fuck was that?! Bix was only trying to help, jeez! So what if he likes Blondie? She likes him and trusts him enough to let him have his mask off! He's never gonna find another girl like that! You selfish BASTARD! Now look at him! You just destroyed your best friends last chance at happiness, congratulations you asshole!_ I ignored the thoughts running through my head as I dumped the massive pot on the stove, trying and failing to ignore blondies massive grin and the tempting glance down her shirt she was unknowingly giving me.

'Tch!' I said, turning and walking away so she didn't see the hint of pink in my cheeks. I glanced at Bix and tried to smile apologetically, but I probably just grimaced. Damn, I'm bad at this friend crap. Ever since blondie barged her way in on my life I've been acting like a hormonal teenager.

'Hey, Sparky! Cut the carrots. Bix, could you please go fill this thing halfway with water?' She smiled at Bix, and I saw him immediately perk up, grinning his characteristic grin as he lugged away the pot.

_Oh please Bix is it? Sparky do this, is it?_ I quickly squashed the jealous thoughts, growling as I roughly chopped the carrot, slamming the knife down against the chopping board.

_You don't even **like** blondie you stupid ass! Bix obviously does so give the poor guy a break! He's had the shittiest life imaginable till now, letting him have her might help..._

'LAXUS!' I flinched as blondie screamed in my ear, and glared at her.

'WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR BLONDIE?' I shouted, gesturing wildly with the knife in one hand and an un-chopped carrot in the other.

'You were ignoring me Sparky, off in La-La land. You've done enough carrots, now go get a damn onion and chop it up. Try not to cry, I might think you like me, cause now _I'm_ ignoring _you_.' She glared at me before turning and smiling at Bix who'd finished filling the pot with water.

I glared and turned around. Heading to the pantry where I'd seen blondie pull out the carrots from.

'Damned blondie. Ignore me will she? Ha! She can damn well try.' I muttered, complaining to myself as I searched for the onions, getting more and more enraged at not being able to find the damn things.

'OI! BLONDIE! WHERE'S THE DAMN ONIONS?' I shouted out to the kitchen. I didn't get a reply, instead I heard her telling Bix she'd need to go get the onions. I frowned as she walked in, not even sparing me a glance as she began to search for them.

'Are you seriously ignoring me blondie?' I asked, disbelievingly as she pulled out a small step ladder and climbed up it, looking up on a second shelf that was above my head. I hadn't even noticed it.

I stood on my tiptoes, smelling, and instantly identified the box with the onions in, and reached up to yank it off the shelf, but suddenly felt pain and heard blondie screaming in laughter, and found myself sitting on the floor.

**Bickslow's POV**

I quickly ran to the entrance of the pantry, only to see Laxus sitting on the floor looking dazed and cosplayer clutching on to a ladder for dear life as she split her sides laughing at my leader. I looked around, and found a load of potatoes scattered across the floor, and half of a filled sack lying on the floor next to Laxus.

I grinned as he looked around, completely dazed.

'OH MY GOD! The Great Laxus Dreyer! Knocked down by a sack of potatoes!' Cosplayer gasped out between squealing laughter.

'OH JEEZ, Bix, you should have seen his FACE!' She was still laughing, and suddenly lost her grip on the ladder, and let out a high pitched squeak. Instantly, my babies zoomed to her and caught her before she hit her head on the stone slab floor, gently lowering her to the ground to stand.

She started giggling again as they whizzed up and around her body randomly.

'Thanks you guys!' She giggled, patting each of them individually.

'You ok, cosplayer? I asked, checking to see if she was hurt, but glad to find she was ok.

'I'm fine, still trying to catch my breath from Laxus-' She burst into giggles again at the thought of it, and I even laughed a the mental image I had of him having a sack of potatoes falling on his head.

She wiped the tears from her eyes, before walking towards Laxus, finally having seized control of her laughter, she bent down to check if he had a bump on his head, gifting me with a really nice view of her ass.

I whistled appreciatively and grinned.

'Nice butt cosplayer.' She turned and glared at me, but I winked at her. I'd already taken my mask off before Laxus had shouted for her. I was still expecting her to look into my eyes and run away screaming, but instead she just grinned at me.

'You know Bix, you're never gonna get a girl if you carry on with the perverted comments.' She said, sticking her tongue out and kneeling next to Laxus.

I felt dread settle in my stomach.

_STUPID BIX! Can't you keep your damn mouth shut for once!? WAIT! NO! We've already agreed, she's Laxus's. Since Tenrou, he's changed. He's been working so hard to be the next Master, he needs someone to support him, and Lucy's perfect. You don't deserve her, one day she'll be scared, just like the rest... just like everyone else was... _

**Lucy's POV**

'Hey Sparky, how many fingers am I holding up?' I asked, giving him the middle finger, and watching as he glared at me.

'Very funny blondie.' He grumbled, quickly pushing himself to his feet. I quickly stood up with him and caught him as he stumbled to the side.

'Hey!' I said, before Bix strode across, suddenly serious, and grabbed Laxus before he squashed me.

I stood between the two huge men, being slightly squished by the muscled chests, before I felt my face flush red and managed to squirm out from between them both.

_Smooth Lucy, real smooth._ I thought to myself, quickly turning to pick up the onions and potatoes strewn across the floor, as I spoke to Bix, refusing to look at him.

'Sit him down in the kitchen Bix, he must have hit his head harder than we thought. I'll be right there, think you could chop these and put the soup on boil?' I asked, finally over my embarrassment as I handed him three onions, which his babies ended up carrying as he was too busy lugging Laxus's shaky body to a chair.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair and pulling out my pony tail, before quickly putting it up into a messy bun, ignoring the few tendrils that escaped around my face and the back of my neck as I walked out of the pantry and over to the cupboard where medical supplies were kept.

'You're pretty well stocked cosplayer.' I turned around to see Bix had fixed his mask to his head again, and frowned.

_Hope I wasn't too harsh with that pervert comment earlier- no, this is Bickslow we're talking about. He's proud of his perverted front. Yes it's a front and you know it baka. _I pushed my thoughts aside before smiling at him.

'Well, yeah. At the moment we've got over fifty orphans under the age of 10, do you have any idea how much those kids eat? Or even how many cuts and scrapes they get?' I laughed softly as I sat down in front of Laxus, looking into his dazed, grey eyes. I quickly averted my gaze as his seemed to lock onto my own brown eyes.

I started to feel around his scalp, trying to find where he'd been hit by the sack of vegetables, as Bix walked over to the massive soup pot and began to start cooking the meal.

I heard Laxus making a noise, and leant closer to him to find he was _purring _as I massaged his head!

I backed off, gingerly touching his head, my fingers sliding through his soft, spiky hair, before I found a bump the size of an egg towards the back.

'Jeez, how can you get punch and knocked about so much and be fine, but one hit from a potatoes sack and boom, welcome to Laxus's second brain.' I murmured, searching for an ointment perfect for bumps, and gently rubbing it over the swelling, ignoring his moans of pain.

'God, you're such a baby.' I mumbled as I finished applying the ointment.

'At least you're not ignoring me anymore.' He mumbled. I looked down to see his eyes closed and glared at him.

'Whatever Sparky. I'm so telling the guild you were taken out by a root vegetable.' I heard Bix stifle a laugh, and watched as Laxus's eyes opened lazily to stare up at m, before he grinned like a predator.

'I guess I'll just have to get something dirty on you then.' He whispered so only I could hear. I glared at him before smirking, and harshly patting his head bump, earning another glare as he winced.

'You can try Sparky. Now shut up and let me bandage your thick skull. We should showcase those potatoes. They must be made of some pretty hard stuff if they managed to hurt your thick skull.' I said cheerfully, wrapping a bandage around his head, resisting the urge to pull it incredibly tight and hurt him.

At the end of the day, he was hurt trying to do as I asked him to.

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I laughed as the tonne of kids slurped at the soup, shouting at each other as a few bread rolls went flying through the air.

_I really should visit more often._ I sighed, playing with the soup Bix had ended up preparing nearly by himself.

We'd managed to eventually drag Ever and Freed away from their paradises. Laxus had had to physically drag Freed out by his collar, he was so engrossed by the book he didn't even notice he was somewhere else till he reached out and tried to read a bread roll, then looked up confused as we started laughing hysterically at him.

He'd flushed a cute shade of red, before slipping the gale force glasses off and silently eating his meal, not even noticing the bandage on Laxus's head till halfway through the meal when I asked how he felt.

Ever still couldn't stop talking about all my old dresses, and nearly fainted when I told her she could take as many as she wanted home with her to adjust or make new clothes from. Her eyes went starry eyed at me, and I started backing away when she threw her arms around me.

I sighed, frowning as I remembered the size of the bill I'd gotten for this place. My inheritance from my Mother was dwindling quite quickly, and I tried to pay off most of the bills from my job earnings, but paying my rent for my apartment in Magnolia as well as a place this big was daunting. Especially with the destructive tendencies of my team.

Now I had to find the silver key of the Phoenix to see if it would help with the trouble in the spirit world.

Loke had told me that some mages had denied their spirits the right to help, and I felt myself getting angry at the memory.

_'What do you mean, they won't allow them to help? This is your world! How can a mage from my world stop you from helping in this kind of situation? Don't they realise how serious this is!?' Loke looked at me, sadness in his eyes._

_'Mages like yourself and Yukino understand, and have allowed us to aid him, which has helped immensely, we're holding it off quite well with all 12 zodiacs available, plus Opiuchus. Some silver keys have managed to help, but most are forbidden. He doesn't mind, he'd rather they stick to the rules of their contracts and the spirit world than go against the law.'_

_'SCREW THE LAW!' I shouted, pacing around the clearing I'd managed to sneak off to in order to talk to Loke without the others over-hearing us._

_'Lucy, unless you have a way to convince those mages, we'll just have to cope. Just focus on staying alive during this mission, ok? Don't do anything reckless.' _

'Oi, blondie. You ok?' Laxus asked, staring at me with something approaching concern. I forced myself to grin and nod, taking a large sip of the soup.

'Great cooking Bix! What seasoning did you use? It's really incredible!'

**Freed's POV**

I watched Lucy like a hawk. Something was troubling her immensely, and I had a feeling it was the problem we weren't allowed to know of that related to the spirit world.

She'd been brooding over her soup for the past five minutes till Laxus interrupted her. She looked like she'd wanted to commit murder, but before that, she only looked sad and incredibly depressed.

I exchanged glances with the rest of the Raijinshuu. They'd noticed too.

Not many people realised and understood my love for knowledge, reading and books, and never had anyone given me full and unrestricted access to a collection as large as Lucy's, and I was truly grateful to her.

She'd snuck her way past my walls and had entered my heart without consent and set up house there.

I smiled at the thought, and knew that I would always protect and respect her as I had Laxus. It wasn't the only reason why I liked her. She was kind, joyful and unreasonably stubborn and determined when she wanted to be. She seemed to have a gift for understanding peoples strengths and weaknesses, and made up for them easily with her own.

Whatever was going on in the spirit world, was causing her pain, and I was going to find out what it was. I quickly ate the last of the soup before excusing myself and running back to the library.

I remember she said her Father had hated mages, so I didn't expect to find many, if any, books about celestial magic, but on the slim chance there was one, I needed to read it immediately so I could understand better what was troubling Lucy.

_I shall help her. I don't care if there are consequences for this, I shall save her from this worry at least._ I told myself, pulling on her gale force glasses and running along the shelves, selecting books that could even have the slimmest relevance or mention of the celestial plane, before settling down for a long night between the pages.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **OKAY GUYS! MAJOR FLUFF ALERT! I KNOW YOU'RE ALL GOING TO LOVE THIS, SO GRAB THE CHOCOLATE AND READ, THIS IS ONE OF MY BEST ONES YET! :D

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**Evergreen's POV**

I watched Freed speed out of the room after nearly scalding himself on the still hot soup. I knew what he was doing. I think we all did. Without even realising it, we'd accepted Lucy into our team and lives. She'd become part of the team, and I refused to even _think_ about her not being with us.

I desperately tried to distract her from thinking of her spirits troubles by talking about all of her dresses and some perfume I'd found in another closet inside the huge dressing room she'd pretty much given to me.

Much like Freed probably felt, I wanted to repay her. I already knew she'd done it to repay us, but I couldn't help but feel like we hadn't done much to deserve it.

The memories of what we did to them during Fantasia were still fresh in our minds, despite it being a long time ago and having her forgiveness.

I could tell it bothered Bickslow and Laxus more than anyone, seeing as how Bix had been the one to fight her, albeit he lost, but he had hurt her. Laxus was drowning in his own feelings of guilt. He didn't show it much, but I noticed it in his eyes when he glanced at her.

We all knew she'd forgiven us, she was here because we were trying to stop her from forgiving her partners for something unforgivable, but she'd already seemed to have forgotten her rage towards them.

I knew she was still sad about the loss of her letters, but I could tell she missed her friends from the way she looked at me and Bix when we argued, almost wistfully, before she intervened and quieted the dispute.

She'd done so much for us, each of us. Bix wasn't as scared to take his mask off around her, Laxus was actually smiling and laughing again, and Freed had someone to talk about his books and theories with. I had a girl to talk to and laugh with, and show my true nature to.

When we all looked at each other after noticing her depression, we didn't need Warren's telepathy to know what each of us was thinking; save Lucy.

As soon as I finished, I excused myself under the guise of going back to the dressing room, but instead I joined Freed in the study, wordlessly picking up a book and pulling out my own pair of gale force glasses, which rarely got used, and began to read beside Freed.

**Lucy's POV**

I watched as Ever left the dining hall, waving cheerfully as she wandered off to look at more of my old clothes. I smiled at her retreating figure before turning to grin at the antic of all the children before me. Most of whom had finished their food and started yawning tiredly.

I'd sent Loke and Virgo back to the spirit world, leaving Plue out to join the kids while they ate.

I pushed away my half finished bowl of soup, ignoring Laxus's frown as I stood up and clapped loudly, gaining all the children's attention.

'Okay guys, time for bed!' I smiled as the expected monotony of groans and moans echoed in the hug room, but they were silenced as I held up a finger.

'If you guys don't give Miss Julia and us any problems getting ready, we'll have a big bedtime story, ok?' They all cheered, suddenly co-operative.

I was about to walk off when Bix grabbed my arm, pulling me around to face him. I could see his panic in his eyes, even though they were mostly covered by his stupid metal mask.

'What do you mean, "us"?' He asked, exchanging a nervous look with Laxus, who was contemplating the distance between him and the door. I pouted, sniffling, pretending to start crying.

'Do you expect me and Julia to handle over 50 kids on our own?' I whined, looking at Bix with watery eyes, and glancing at Laxus, who'd gone rigid, glaring at me with suspicion. I finally sold it to him by forcing a tear to escape my eyes. He groaned and slumped forwards as Bix shook his head.

'Fine blondie, we'll help.' I laughed, earning myself a glare from both men.

'Oh don't be like that. Their just kids. No trouble at all for a pair of big strong mages who took out a pack of vulcans and wyverns what, yesterday?' They looked at me, grimacing.

Suddenly, I grabbed Bix's mask and took it off, before pushing his hood back.

'What the fuck cosplayer?' He said, earning a slap for swearing in front of the children.

'I like your eyes. Besides, these kids have seen more terrifying things than a pair of red eyes, so chill. Also, you've got nice hair.' I told him, fingering the soft strands, before blushing and moving away with the mask in my hands.

'Okay kids, be nice to Bix-ni and Laxus-ni, okay?'I shouted as they had split into their groups and followed the two mages.

I laughed softly as they started out awkwardly, standing clueless in the middle of the group of kids, before the children took charge and pulled on their arms, leading them off.

I watched as they gained their confidence with the kids, laughing as Laxus lifted up three on each of his arms, their squealing laughter echoing down the corridor as they led them towards the huge bathroom I'd had installed, which had replace two guest bedrooms. At the sight of Laxus so at home with the children, I couldn't but feel the butterflies in my belly flutter, and something clench tightly onto my gut as my heart thudded erratically. I looked over to see how Bix was getting on, and saw him with one kid on his shoulders and another two dangling off each arm and leg, his tongue sticking out wildly as he laughed with them, his babies twirling and zooming in between the happy children. That feeling in my chest got bigger, and I thought my heart stopped for a moment, before I forced myself to move forward, blushing bright red at myself.

The room became quiet except for the brushing of teeth, and within 15 minutes, all of the fifty or so children were clean and dressed in their pyjamas.

I lead the large group into another big room that had pillows and beanbags tossed everywhere around a hug window seat that allowed them to see the night stars.

I grabbed a story book and waited for them all to sit down, Laxus and Bix standing at the back. I turned on a small lamp beside me as Julia turned out the overhead lights, and the ceiling of the room lit up with the constellations I'd stuck there with glow in the dark stars.

I smiled up at the ceiling before I started to read the story that had been designated for this night, smiling even more as the children cuddled up to me as much as possible.

**Laxus's POV**

I looked on with Bix as she read them some kids book, and couldn't help but smile at her happy face as the children seemed to gravitate towards her. Hell, everyone gravitates towards her; she had that kind of vibe that said "Hey, pick me! You won't regret it, because I'll love you more than you damn well think you deserve and you'll love every minute of it too!"

'She's incredible, isn't she?' I heard a soft feminine voice whisper to us. We both looked down to see Julia smiling warmly at blondie. I grunted my agreement and continued to watch.

'You're the first ones she's bought here since she started the orphanage. She quite often turns up by herself, carrying another abandoned child in her arms, their clothes in tatters and ridden with lice and illness. She takes in everyone she finds. When I told her there wasn't enough room for more, she contracted some builders and had them make all these changes so we could have more.' She sighed sadly as me and Bix looked at her, listening intently.

'She refuses to allow me to help pay for anything. She still pays the bills somehow, all by herself. God knows how she does it. I heard she was amongst the mages that disappeared, and we mourned for her. All of us did. But the payments still kept coming. She must have set something up in case something happened to her.' She looked up at both of us sternly, frowning slightly.

'I hope you both sort whatever this is out. I can see you both love her, don't deny it; and whichever one of you gets her, know this. You have an Angel on your hands. Don't ever allow her to be hurt, because she carries more than one heart within her. All of these children owe her their lives, as well as me.' We watched as she walked out of the room to who knows where.

'So. You like blondie huh?' I whispered, feeling my heart cracking for some damn reason.

'Maybe. You like cosplayer too though, right Laxus?' He asked, his voice deadpan as he stared straight at the golden haired woman, who laughed that damn tinkley laugh as one of the kids spoke to her.

'Maybe Bix. I dunno anymore. She frustrates me more than anything, and pisses me the hell off every time she opens her damn mouth.' I muttered, but I couldn't muster any anger behind my words.

'What are we gonna do Laxus?' He whispered, crossing his arms, still staring at blondie. I shrugged, listening intently to what she was saying.

'Who knows Bix? Damn blondie has us all wrapped around her little finger, huh?' I chuckled softly, knowing there was no point in hiding my affection for her.

'Can't deny it. Won't either. She's... incredible.' He breathed out, shaking his head.

'Jeez, look at us. A couple of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail pining for the same girl.' He grunted, refusing to let his gaze shift from her. I turned to look at her, noticing how the lamp light from behind her made her hair shine, taking my breath away.

'I wish I didn't like her like this Bix. I know you love her already. She'd be good for you, but you know what? I can't give her up. I thought I could, but I... just can't.' I felt his eyes drilling into my skull and turned to stare straight into them, seeing them flash a luminous green, before he shut them tightly and looked away, breathing deeply to control his figure eyes.

'Same here Laxus. God I keep telling myself she's too fucking good for me, and that you need her, but I just can't give up like this. It fucking hurts every time I see her getting closer to you, and whenever she talks to me I just can't breathe suddenly.' He laughed harshly at himself, running a hand through his black-blue streaked hair, turning to face me.

'Pathetic, I know.' I shook my head, punching him lightly.

'I know the feeling man; but damn, when she flashes you just enough skin to tempt you and then backs off right away, blushing all cute like?' We groaned quietly simultaneously and grinned.

'Better make sure Mira doesn't here about this Laxus, she'll go crazier than when she found out Bisca and Alzack got married without her, then had a kid!' I groaned at Bix's words, thankful his babies were hovering protectively around Lucy, sometimes repeating what she said and making all the kids giggle quietly.

'I'm not going to fight you for her Bix. I don't want her to see me like that, or for you to get hurt. You know I get more intense about this kind of stuff because of the dragons damn instincts. But we're just going to have to back off and let her decide.' He nodded in agreement, his eyes once again locked on the beautiful blonde in front of us.

'Laxus. Whoever does get her, swear to me, our friendship won't change, and neither of us will make a move on her while she's dating whoever she chose, right?' I nodded, and we shook hands on it, knowing that from here on out, it was all down to blondie.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Hey guys, sorry for this being a late upload (for me anyways!) Had a serious block on what to write, but I pushed my way past it. I'll be updating again tomorrow in the afternoon or the evening, so keep a close eye out for me. :) Enjoy! xx

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_One Week Later_

**Lucy's POV**

I sighed in happiness as I took a deep swallow from Mira's strawberry milkshake she'd handed me as I'd entered the guild hall and slumped at the bar. I was exhausted after the weeks travelling and trying to think of how I was going to find the key of the Phoenix. This was going to be harder than I'd originally thought.

I smiled as I remembered all the fun I'd had with the Raijinshuu over the past few weeks. I'd seen a side to them all that I had the feeling they rarely showed to anyone, and found myself loving them as much as I did Team Natsu.

I'd given Freed and Ever permission to visit the Konzern whenever they liked, on the condition that they helped out Julia while they visited. I had the feeling out of the Raijinshuu and Laxus, they'd be the ones to visit the most, Freed especially now he'd had a taste of my book collection.

I laughed slightly as I remembered his face as Laxus was forced to drag him away from the library. He looked like a puppy who'd lost his favourite bone after being scolded for something. I felt so sorry for him that I said he could take some of the books he really wanted home with him, but told him he'd have to carry them all.

We'd nearly missed the train because of the bulging rucksack that he'd strapped to his back slowing him down.

Either way, I was finally home, and didn't have to worry about rent for once! My cut of the mission reward was just over 200,000 jewels, so I was definitely covered for two months rent, with some money spare.

I began to calculate how much would be left after paying off the most urgent bill at the orphanage, and sighed at the meagre figure I reached in my mind.

'Looks like you'll be eating at the guild on tab for a while Lucy.' I mumbled to myself, dragging my body away from the bar and sitting in a corner of the guild.

I was finally fully recovered from my use of Urano Metria. Apart from that time when I'd cast it against Oracian Seis, I hadn't cast it by myself successfully. What most people don't realise is that the stronger my magic capabilities get, the harder it is to control Urano Metria's drain on my power. It's like I was a huge battery, and casting the spell was the switch, but I was unable to fully control the flow of energy into the spell, so it took more of a toll than I'd expected it to on my body.

I smiled, grateful I could now use magic after a week of pleading with Laxus to give me my keys back, and called Loke forth for an update on goings on in the spirit realm.

'Loke, how is he?' I whispered to my clearly exhausted friend. Loke looked up at me from where he'd appeared sitting beside me at the guild table with tired and blood shot eyes.

'Not good Lucy. We've done ok supplying him with power for the moment, but it's beginning to drain us. We just can't do much else-' I pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly till his arms encircled me, then he pulled away, smiling gratefully.

'Sorry Luce- I just-' I smiled sadly at him as I played with my cool milkshake, watching as a bead of condensation made it's jagged journey down the outside of the glass.

'Don't you worry. I'll help fix this, I promise.' I looked up into his eyes, determined. He stared at me for a moment, before nodding slowly.

'I'm going to have to summon Crux, but not for too long.' He nodded his consent.

'I can take his place for a while, or Virgo.' I smiled before he disappeared. I quickly finished my milkshake, before sneaking into the guild library. No one except me and Levy and possibly Freed ever came down here, but Levy was out on a mission, and Freed was at home unpacking still.

"Open! Gate of the Southern Cross! Crux!" I watched as through a poof of smoke, Grandpa Crux appeared, sleeping.

'Gramps!' I shouted, waking him up.

'Ah, Lucy-sama. What can I do for you today?' He coughed, smiling at me.

'Grandpa Crux, I need to know if there is a way I can find a particular key using a celestial spell. You know what's going on, and I think I can save him, but I need this key.' He frowned, before nodding, and closing his eyes, seeming to fall asleep again, when in actuality he was searching through his archives of knowledge for the information I'd requested. I sat down, tired suddenly, waiting for him to come up with the information.

**Freed's POV**

I'd used the back entrance to exit the guild, wanting to find a particular book in the library about celestial magic I'd seen a few months ago, but not wanting Mira to question me and hold me up. I had a lot of reading to do if I wanted to be of any use to Lucy.

I stayed silent as I heard someone enter the library, and pressed myself against the shelf so they wouldn't see me in the dim light.

I frowned as Lucy ran past, glancing behind her to ensure no one had followed.

Curious, I dodged between the bookshelves till I stood close to where she had sat.

'Grandpa Crux, I need to know if there is a way I can find a particular key using a celestial spell. You know what's going on, and I think I can save him, but I need this key.' I frowned, listening intently to what sounded like snoring. I heard her sigh as she sat down, waiting. I glanced between the books to see what I assumed to be a celestial spirit floating in the air, snoozing after Lucy had asked him something. I glanced towards her, to see her unconcerned and waiting as she fiddled with her hair.

'KYAAAH!' The spirit screamed suddenly, wide awake, surprising me. Somehow, I managed to not let out a yelp as I stumbled backwards, and listened intently to what he said.

'There is such a spell Lucy-sama, but it can be exhausting and very dangerous depending on how far away the key is.' I frowned as I listened to the old spirit speak.

'You need to know that this spell is a branch off from Urano Metria, and under any other circumstances, you would require the Spirit King's direct approval to learn it. Considering it is required to save his life, I will tell you.'

_The Spirit King?_ I frowned, before remembering a mention of him in one of the books I'd read. I swore softly beneath my breath, finally realising the severity of the situation the spirit world was in, but started to listen once again to see if I could hear the spell. I frowned as I saw Lucy nodding knowledgeably, and realised the spirit had used telepathy to tell her it.

I silently left the library to report to Laxus. Our celestial mage was in need of our help, even if she didn't know it yet.

**Lucy's POV**

I thanked Crux, and sent him back to the spirit world, frowning. This spell was going to be difficult to pull off.

I walked out of the library, and absent-mindedly waved to Mira as I walked upstairs towards Master's office. I could feel her concerned gaze follow me, but quickly entered his office, thankful Laxus wasn't seated at the other desk in the shared room. I smiled slightly at the sight of two huge piles of paperwork waiting for Sparky when he got back from unpacking and relaxing at home.

'What is it Lucy?' Master Makarov asked, concerned. I smiled as I sat down in front of his desk.

'Nothing's wrong Master, I just have a small request. Could I go to Tenroujima for a few days?' Master frowned at me, suspicious.

'Why do you wish to go there?' It hurt to lie to Master, but I knew I couldn't tell him the true reason, and smiled through the lie.

'On the job with Laxus and the Raijinshuu, I cast Urano Metria by myself, and I want to go and absorb as much magic from Tenroujima as I can to restore and strengthen my magic levels. They've been a bit shaky since.' I winced as his face bent into concern at the half-truth.

'Of course Lucy, Tenroujima is an island for Fairy Tail.' I heard Master Mavis's voice speak from behind me, and I turned to smile at her.

'Well, if First thinks it's ok, I suppose you can go.' Master smiled, before smirking evilly at me.

'However, upon your return, I require your help with some paperwork.' I looked at the towers of papers that covered most of the office floor and took up both sides of Laxus's and Master's desks. Grimacing slightly, I nodded my agreement as I felt a small hand land on my shoulder.

'Well, I'll be taking Lucy now then.' I heard Master Mavis say, and suddenly, I felt a harsh tug against my stomach, and it felt like I'd dropped through the floor.

I grunted as I landed on the sandy beach of Tenroujima, and thanks Master Mavis as I stood and brushed off my skirt. She smiled at me, before turning and skipping away. I turned and started to try and find a comfortable place to meditate, when I heard her voice call back to me.

'It'll take you three days to absorb the magic required for that spell Lucy. The most concentrated magic is at the centre of the island, inside the giant tree. Good luck!' I span and stared towards where she'd disappeared to, before turning to make my way through the dense forest, following a clear path towards the centre of the isle.

**Bickslow's POV**

'SHE WHAT?' I heard Laxus shout from Master's office, and turned to stare at the door, worried as to what had happened to Lucy.

Freed had ran to Laxus, and he'd thought projected both myself and Evergreen the conversation where Freed told us about Lucy learning some crazy spell off a spirit who'd said there was some risk involved in her casting it.

I felt my hand tighten around the glass of scotch, before I downed it, muttering to myself.

'Where the fuck are you cosplayer?' Ever sat beside me, sniffling to herself, somehow managing to hold back tears behind that famous snobbish mask she wore.

Though I physically covered my face, all other members of the Raijinshuu had their own invisible masks, and Lucy had stripped all of us of our false identities faster than we could build them back up.

Freed was desperately searching through a pile of books on celestial magic, and had even went and asked Levy for all of her books on the subject; which had been very few.

Laxus suddenly stormed out of the office, lightning sparking dangerously around his body and Master followed behind, a worried expression plastered on his face.

'Laxus, what happened? Where's Lucy?' Ever asked, her nervousness breaking through her facade of calm. We all had risen to our feet at the sight of Laxus's angry and worried face.

'She's gone to Tenroujima to gather magic for this damned spell.' Master looked grim as Laxus said this, his face serious.

The rest of the guild seemed to sense the mood from upstairs, as it was silent down there.

'She'll be fine.' We turned to see Master Mavis sitting on the balcony railing, her bare feet swinging as she smiled at us.

'Master, if this key is on the opposite side of the world, then she could be in serious trouble of using her magic supplies.-' Freed began, but was cut off at a raised hand from First.

'That is why she has gone to Tenroujima. She is filling, and over filling, her magical container. By meditating constantly in the centre of the isle, she'll have a near constant supply of magical energy even while performing the spell.' I relaxed slightly at First's reassurance, but still felt a pull deep within my guts at the thought of cosplayer out there alone.

'She can't summon any spirits though Master! How will she protect herself from the monsters on Tenroujima without them?' Ever reminded us. Mavis smiled gently at her as she explained.

'I created a protected path for her which will lead her straight to the centre of the island. None of the creatures on Tenroujima can stand the high levels of magical energy there. I'd be surprised if Lucy could make it t the exact centre. It's difficult to walk through that much magical pressure.'

I felt us all relax at being assured of her safety.

'You must all understand, what is happening is beyond the realm of your understanding. No matter how many books you read, or how worried you are, she will still do what she must for her spirits, and the spirit world.' We stared at Master Mavis, the building silent as everyone had now found out, our celestial mage was in a spot of trouble.

'Master, Freed overheard one of her spirits say the spirit king is unwell. Is that true?' Laxus asked, his arms tightly clenched into fists by his sides.

'I can't say Laxus. You know too much already. Know much more, and Lucy will have consequences to pay from the Celestial Council. Stop, and trust in her and her abilities. She is far stronger than even Freed realises.' She giggled, before disappearing.

'MASTER! WHERE IS LUCY?' We all heard Demon Mira scream in her Satan Soul form, and the Master visibly paled, before turning to face the furious take over mage.

I sat down heavily, pulling my mask off my head and pushing my hood back, rubbing a hand through my hair.

My babies sat quietly on the table, shuffling only slightly in response to my fluctuating mood, and their own worry. They seemed to love cosplayer as much as I did.

_Stay safe, Lucy._


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **I feel like this is slightly shorter than my others, just wanted to update everyone on what was going on in the guild. ;) WILL BE UPDATING AGAIN TODAY, DON'T WORRY! :P :) xx

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**Lucy's POV**

It took me just over an hour to reach the centre of Tenroujima. The enormous tree roots that towered high into the air now blocked the sun from sight, yet I was still warm.

As soon as the tree roots had completely obscured the sun and it had become dark, green lights seemed to appear at the sides of the path, illuminating the way for me in the darkness.

When I looked closer, I noticed they were just rocks covered in a type of glow in the dark moss.

I shrugged, and carried on down the path, knowing deep in my stomach I needed to go this way. As soon as I felt the magical pressure double around me, making it harder to move, I knew I was right. I forced my body onwards, gasping for breath. It felt like I was forcing my way through treacle the way the magic pressure seemed to be repelling my body.

I gritted my teeth and narrowed my eyes as I powered down the path.

Suddenly, I saw an archway in front of me, and I managed to ignore the magic pressure around me as I stood in surprise at what was before me.

I'd reached the base of the tree, but it wasn't on the ground, it was suspended into the air, and supported by several stone pillars that rose out of the ground. Beneath the tree was a paved circle, with various inscriptions on every single stone, making it appear to be a giant permanent magic circle placed beneath the tree. At this point, the pressure pushing against me was almost unbearable, but all I had to think about was what would happen to the people I cared about if I failed, and I knew I would make it to the exact centre of the circle before me.

It took every single fibre of my remaining energy to force each foot to move forwards, making my way towards the archway painstakingly slowly. I felt sweat running of my body in waves, and the temptation to turn back was almost overwhelming. My keys were vibrating and levitating with the magic surrounding us, and my hair thrashed about in the air violently.

I made one last ditch effort, and managed to step beneath the arch.

Suddenly, the pressure abated to an easily manageable push and I sucked in air, desperate to replenish my aching body with oxygen, collapsing to my knees on the floor.

Gradually, I felt like my legs would move again, and began to stand, carefully testing out my stability and finding it to be ok. I looked around the stone circle below the giant tree, before looking up and gasping in surprise.

Hovering within the hollowed out tree trunk was a giant ball of pure magical energy, blue sparks flying at different angles randomly before being absorbed by the tree and shooting along the roots.

I smiled at the beauty of it, before focusing, and walking so that I stood directly beneath the ball of energy. I could feel it pressing against my skin, making my hairs stand on end, and my hair begin to lift, levitating gently around my face as I sat on the floor.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes, and began to go into my meditative state.

I forced all of my thoughts and stress to leak out of my body, gradually emptying my mind of everything. Next, I shut off the receptors to all of my senses; sight, touch, sound, smell and finally taste. I felt nothing, focusing completely on the rhythm of my breathing and the beat of my heart.

Finally, I forced my heart to slow down to a sluggish, quiet pulse while keeping my long steady breaths constant.

Gently, I released my magic so it created a bubble around me, before I forced it to expand further and further, taking in and absorbing the magic around me.

I felt energy bolting through my body somewhere in my subconscious, but in my meditative state all I knew was the pattern of my breathing and the steady beat of my heart.

_Thump... Thump... Thump..._

**Gray's POV**

I glared at Natsu, and was sorely tempted to smack him, before I recalled what Erza had said about reining in our destruction and clenched my hand into a shaking fist as I held back the urge to kill the pink headed ash tray.

Though the mission was supposed to take months, we'd completed it in just over two weeks, and was making our way back to Magnolia.

Throughout this mission we'd all had a gloomy and depressed mood, and at every turn there was someone or something that reminded us of Lucy.

As soon as Erza told me what was in that box, I felt my heart seize.

I'd remembered seeing her writing every night on missions and having Virgo take care of whatever was written. I hadn't thought about it, just considered it as one of her quirks.

My stomach churned at the thought of seeing her again, and my anger at Natsu's stupidity faded to be replaced by my own guilt at the part I'd played in destroying something so valuable to her.

I loved Lucy a lot, she was like a sister to me and I'd sworn to make sure I acted as a brother should, protecting her from everything I could.

I knew Natsu felt the same way, even though Mira had been trying to pair them up ever since he'd dragged her into the guild to join. We both considered ourselves as her protectors, her family.

The thought of us hurting her made me sick down to my soul, and I shivered as I remembered how angry she was at us, wondering if she really could forgive us this time.

'Eugh...' Natsu groaned as the train swung around a sharp bend, making his head loll against my shoulder. I grimaced as I drew in the temptation to punch him out of the stupid window so he could walk, and shoved him so his head smacked against the cold glass.

'Luuccyy...' He mumbled in his semi-conscious stupor. I shut my eyes and sighed before opening them to look at Erza.

She'd barely slept throughout the mission, worrying about Lucy, and had finally allowed the train to lull her into a light nap.

I looked down at the bracelet Ur had given me. It was the last thing that linked me to her, and I knew that if one of my friends destroyed it, accidentally or not, I would struggle for a long time to forgive them.

I sighed and smacked my head against the head rest, frustrated.

I saw Happy stir in Natsu's lap and open his eyes blearily at me, before shutting them and mumbling beneath his breath.

'Gray, clothes.' I looked down to see I was only wearing my boxers, and swore as I got up to search for them, ignoring the glares from the men and the stares of the girls a I pulled on my shirt and trousers.

_Stay safe Lucy, wait for me._ I thought, gritting my teeth tightly as I stared out of the window at the scenery flashing past as we travelled home.

**No-one's POV**

The guild was quiet, the only sounds coming from people eating or drinking but even then the noises were suppressed.

Even Cana just sat there, staring at another barrel of alcohol before slowly taking sip after sip.

The loss of Lucy's presence seemed to have taken the energy out of everyone, and Mira felt tears running down her face as she dried a glass at the bar.

'LUCYY!' Natsu shouted as he crashed open the doors of the guild, breathing heavily. He'd ran all the way from the station so that he could see her before Erza or Gray, who both entered close behind him, looking for their team mate.

They noticed the quiet demeanour of everyone and they all felt a deep clenching within their stomachs.

'Where's Lucy?' Erza asked quietly, searching her out.

'She's not here, obviously.' Laxus called out from the Raijinshuu table, glaring at the members of Team Natsu.

'Well where is she?' Natsu asked, frowning at how seriously Laxus looked at them.

'She's on Tenroujima. She's powering up for some spell she needs to do to find a stupid key for something going wrong in the celestial world, but she can't tell anyone about it because of some stupid fucking law-' Laxus's voice had been rising as he got more and more agitated, lightning surrounding his body.

'Laxus, chill.' "Chill! Chill!" Bickslow placed a hand on his friends shoulder, ignoring the pain the lightning caused him, and pulled Laxus back into his seat, handing him another glass of vodka.

'Cosplayer's got some problems, and can't tell anyone; even you guys. But she could die if she does this spell without enough magic, so she ran off to Tenroujima without anyone so she could meditate and power up.' Bickslow's babies hovered sadly behind him, not even bothering to repeat his words.

'And none of you tried to stop her?' Gray shouted, looking around the guild, his eyes resting on Mira, who had begun to cry again.

Freed stood and walked across to her, pulling her into his arms as he glared at Gray.

'She left with Master Mavis. We didn't even know she'd gone till it was too late, so don't blame anyone for this.' Mira clung onto Freed's coat, letting lose her tears at the thought of Lucy alone.

'So Lucy's all alone out there? Don't any of you realise how much she hates being alone?' Natsu said quietly, his face devoid of emotion.

'Calm down Natsu. Lucy's fine, in fact, she should be finished in another couple of hours.' Mavis grinned down at her guild from the second floor, her feet dangling over the balcony railing and Master standing beside her, his arms crossed.

'I'll be going to fetch her soon, or she'll over absorb and then we'll be having problems. Either way, she'll be much stronger and can cast the spell she wants without danger to herself. Trust in her ability, she's perfectly capable of this.' Mavis smiled gently down at the guild members, filled with worry for the blonde mage.

She slipped over the edge of the balcony, and descended to the ground, walking across to them, looking straight into their eyes with her own deep, dark green ones.

'Trust in your nakama.' She whispered, grabbing Natsu's and Erza's hands as she stared at Gray, before turning to look at the worried Raijinshuu.

Ever finally burst into tears, and clung onto Bickslow's shoulder desperately, as he looked away from First's penetrating gaze, unable to quench his worry for the girl. Laxus stood and walked out of the guild, yanking his sound pod over his ears angrily, trying to disguise his own worry for Lucy with his anger for her leaving without telling them.

At that moment, only one thought echoed in everyone of the Fairy Tail members minds:

_Lucy, be safe._


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **This is DRAMATIC GUYS! Don't panic! I'm updating again today, but not for a few hours! Let me know what you think of this one, cause it's getting to the serious stuff now. :) ;)

Had a panic attack when writing this, my computer randomly restarted and I was screaming because I hadn't saved for a while! THANK GOD FOR AUTOSAVE! ;) xx enjoy! xx

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**Lucy's POV**

I felt magic coursing through me, my body humming in anticipation, literally vibrating with the power surging through my body.

Still, I forced myself to pull more into my body, despite the fact my magical container within my body had overflowed hours ago.

Mavis had said it would take a couple of days for me to reach the level of magic I needed, but I don't think she expected me to get so close to the energy source, as I'd only been here 8 hours and already I was powered up enough to cast the spell.

I opened my eyes, to see I'd been levitating off the floor. I squealed as I lost concentration and collapsed to the ground in a heap.

'Kyaah! That hurt!' I mumbled, rubbing my sore butt, before looking down at my arms in astonishment.

I was literally _glowing_ with magic power beneath my skin. I blinked, rubbing my eyes, and pulled out my pocket mirror to look at my face.

My skin was shining gold, and my eyes were completely blue.

'Creepy!' I muttered, staring into my filled in eyes before snapping the mirror shut and slipping it away, hardening my resolve as I stood, my legs shaky with cramp.

'Please, work.' I whispered, looking up at the pulsing blue orb of magical energy above me as a couple of bolts shot down to blast me with more power. I felt my body shake, with the amount of magic it had absorbed.

'LUCY! CAST IT NOW! YOU'VE GOT TOO MUCH IN YOU! DO IT NOW!' I turned my creepy new eyes to stare at Master Mavis who'd appeared outside the circle, and nodded, smiling, before shutting my eyes and beginning to chant the spell Crux had taught me.

_"Survey the heavens, Open the Heavens,_

_All the stars, far and wide_

_Show me the key I search for_

_Far and wide_

_Oh Tetrabiblos,_

_I am the keeper of the stars_

_Aspect become complete_

_Open they malevolent eye_

_Oh 88 stars of the Heavens,_

_Search!_

_Key of the Phoenix! Phoenicis!_

_Reveal yourself to me,_

**_Celestial Scan!_**"

Immediately, I felt the magic I'd absorbed into my body pouring out, leaving me in such a rush I felt myself falling to the ground on my knees, in a silent scream as the golden magic circle beneath me enlarged further to cover the entire stone floor, the markings carved into the stones shining in resonance with my spell.

My heart hammered sharply against my chest and I shut my eyes in pain, before screaming as my magic poured out of my body, arching my back in agony.

**Master Mavis's POV**

I watched on, horrified as a scream tore through her body, echoing and resonating with the magic coursing out of her body.

I'd miscalculated her abilities.

'LUCY!' I shouted, trying to enter the area, but was pushed back by the magical barrier her spell had created around her, sparks of blue and gold magic striking me back.

Her eyes flew open suddenly as her scream was cut off.

They were pure white and were moving around in her skull in every direction. The spell was working.

'LUCY!' I heard a voice beside me, and saw Leo the Lion beside me staring in shock at his master, before he tried to enter the spell, being thrown back by her magic.

'LUCY STOP!' He screamed, tears streaming down his face, as his hands lit up, trying to punch his way through the barrier, but only being thrown away.

By all rights, he should have returned to the spirit world from the damage, but he just ran back, ignoring the pain as his body began to disintegrate from the lack of celestial power fuelling him. 'She'll be fine Leo, return to the realm. I'll watch over her.' He turned to look at me, finally noticing my presence. His eyes were wild and crazed with worry and fear, all for the celestial mage before me.

'She wouldn't want you to see her like this.' I whispered, as blood began to trickle out of her nose, tracking down the outside of her open mouth and dripping to the floor from her chin.

'NO! I PROMISED I'D SAVE HER! I PROMISED!' He screamed, hitting the barrier over and over again, the skin pealing from his hands.

Suddenly, I saw her face turn to face us, her white eyes looking in our direction. Leo froze, staring at her in shock.

'Lucy!' He let out a pained whisper as she pulled his key up in a shaking arm.

"Forced... gate... closure. Leo the... lion!" She gasped out, her eyes still roving around her head, caught in the spell. He roared as he was thrown back to the spirit world.

I stared on in astonishment as she lowered her arm, collapsing onto her back, her eyes still uncontrollably swivelling in her face.

Her magical energy was depleting dangerously fast after she'd forced Leo's gate closure, and I knew I had to do something.

Just as I was about to stop the spell, she screamed again, her body arching off the ground before she collapsed, the spell suddenly disappearing as her body shook on the ground, sparks of magical energy flying from her still glowing body.

Slowly, her convulsions slowed, and the magical barrier around her dissolved. I ran forwards, grabbing her hand and searching for a pulse in her wrist, before I grabbed onto her and teleported her back to the guild.

'I'm sorry Lucy.' I whispered, tears leaking from my eyes. It was my fault for underestimating her, and not preparing for this kind of situation.

I flinched as I heard her friends voices scream her name as they realised who had appeared before them. I stepped back as they began to attend to her, Bickslow shoving people out of the way to pick her up and run her to the infirmary, her body still shaking uncontrollably.

**Bickslow's POV**

I stared down at her body. She'd been asleep for two days, shaking as the magical energy she'd absorbed tried to escape her; her body not strong enough to hold it.

I saw her soul within her body, a shining golden light, waver and flicker, before bursting back, strong as ever.

When Mavis appeared with Lucy in that state, my heart stopped and I felt as though my guts had been ripped out of my body. My eyes had blurred as I'd shoved through the worried and dithering crowd, to grab her. Freed and Ever had followed me, along with Mira and both Masters.

Laxus had joined us not long after, along with Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Erza, Levy and Gajeel. The whole guild would be here if Master hadn't put his foot down, and declared only the Raijinshuu and Team Natsu were permitted to enter with Wendy and Porlyusica's permission.

Levy looked depressed, but nodded, accepting it and asking to be told when she woke up.

I'd been sitting beside her bed ever since she'd come in. Laxus and the rest surrounded her bed too, having grabbed chairs from other rooms as we watched over her.

Ever had fallen asleep gripping her pale hand, her head resting on the mattress beside her, and Laxus hadn't slept at all. Not many of us had.

I'd taken my mask and hood off days ago, ignoring Team Natsu's curious glances, before they seemed to get used to seeing me without them, and ignored me in favour of watching over their friend.

I stared at her closed eyes. Last night, her body had finally stopped shaking, and the golden glow that had been emanating from her still body had diminished slightly.

We'd barely spoken, our only reason for being there to watch her, to make sure she was going to recover.

Yesterday, Loke had opened his own gate and appeared at the foot of her bed, pale and beaten up. He staggered forwards, shoving past everyone to collapse against her, hugging her tightly in his arms and crying silently.

'I tried to stop her, I tried-' Erza had calmed him down slightly, but looking into his eyes, we could see he blamed himself for what happened.

Suddenly, her body started shuddering, and she turned to the side, retching. We all stood, panicking before Wendy shoved past us all with a bucket, holding it in front of Lucy's mouth as she puked out blood.

'What the fuck?' Laxus shouted, staring in shock as the red liquid poured from her mouth.

'PORLYUSICA!' Natsu screamed, gripping the iron bed rail between his hands, the metal starting to glow red hot as he trembled in fear.

I reached forwards and pulled her hair out of her face, trying to help in any pathetic way I could. Ever had reached forwards and was stroking her back soothingly, whispering in her ear as tears leaked out of her still closed eyes.

'Get out you useless human! OUT!' Porlyusica burst in shouting upon seeing the scene before her, and shoved us all out as she and Wendy began some emergency treatment.

I looked at my hands, to see some of her blood had splashed on me, and stared emotionlessly before my hands started shaking.

I felt a hand on my arm, and flinched, looking to see Freed had gripped on to me to try and calm me down.

'What the hell's wrong with her?' Laxus shouted at Master, pacing across the floor.

The guild was silent except for some of the women sobbing at the idea of Lucy's condition worsening.

'She's dying.' I muttered, still in shock, staring at the spots of her blood that glistened on my hands. I felt myself sink to the ground, still staring at my shaking hands as there was silence around me.

'Don't even think that.' Laxus hissed, striding forward and grabbing my shirt, lifting me up and shoving me into the wall, hitting me out of my stupor.

'She'll be fine. This is blondie we're talking about. She's too damn stubborn and annoying to d... Just don't say it!' He shouted, storming over to a corner and punching the wall, lightning crackling all around him.

'Luce is strong. Luce is strong. Luce is strong.' Natsu was standing with his eyes closed, repeating the words over and over as Erza and Ever sat down together, gripping each other's hands as tears dripped down their faces.

'Lucy.' I whispered clenching my shaking hands into tight fists and slowly standing to go to the men's changing room. I desperately washed my hands, rubbing the soap across my skin, scouring at my flesh with my nails, desperate to remove the memory of her blood on my hands.

'Lucy. Lucy. Lucy.' I muttered desperately, scrubbing and scrubbing, repeating her name over and over again to make up for all the times I refused to say it, to refuse I cared for someone other than my team.

'Please, please, please.' I whispered, my hands red from where I'd rubbed them raw, the skin angry at my treatment. But I had to carry on.

I felt a hand land on my shoulder, and saw Gray standing behind me, looking at my soapy, clean hands. He shook his head, and guided my hands to rest under the cool water. I let him pull me back to wait outside the infirmary door, my babies hovering behind us. They hadn't spoken at all since I'd seen Lucy lying on the guild floor, blood pouring out of her nose and her tiny body shivering.

I listened as the sound of her retching permeated the infirmary door, and closed my eyes, rocking back and forth with my hands clenching tightly to my head.

I heard someone sit beside me and didn't have to look up to see it was Laxus.

It felt like we'd been sitting outside for hours till the sounds of her retching finally stopped. Laxus had begun pacing again, and we all jerked to look as the door opened, and out came Porlyusica.

'Wendy is resting. The blonde is stable, and will begin to recover. Her magic levels have returned to normal.' I let lose a breath I didn't know I'd been holding and rubbed a hand across my gritty eyes.

'Thank God.' Erza whispered, before hugging Ever in happiness. Laxus clapped his hand on my shoulder before walking and dragging the pink haired old woman into a hug.

'Thank you.' He whispered, before releasing her and walking back into the infirmary.

'Tch. Stupid humans.' She muttered, before glaring at us all and walking away.

Slowly, we all trooped back into her room. The blood had been cleaned up, and her skin was a shade paler, but it wasn't shining at all, and she was breathing more regularly than before.

We silently all sat back down to resume our silent vigil over the woman we all seemed to love.

_Please Lucy. Come back to me_ I thought, lifting her still hand up to my face and clutching it desperately, clinging on to the last anchor of my sanity.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **As promised, uploaded! ;) You'll be finding out in the next couple of chapters what's going on in the celestial world, but till tomorrow, enjoy! :) xx

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**Laxus's POV**

I stared at the grave in front of me, the rain slapping the freshly laid tombstone, beginning the long process of chipping away and eroding the stone.

Everyone else had left, but I couldn't. My tears mixed with the rain that dripped down my face, and I collapsed to the floor to my knees, resting my hands on her grave...

* * *

I jerked forwards out of the dream to stare at her face. I stared intently at her chest, and relaxed when I saw it move.

She wasn't dead. It was just a dream.

Thank God.

I gently took her small, pale hand in my large callused one, and gripped it, squeezing slightly as I raised my other hand to stroke her golden bangs out of her face.

'Stupid blondie, making us all worry like this.' I whispered, my shaking hand resting against her smooth cheek before I forced myself to pull back.

I looked around to see everyone in various states of sleep; Bix resting his head on the bed beside blondies other arm, Ever and Erza lying across the bottom of the bed, ensuring to avoid putting their wait on blondies legs. Natsu slept on the floor, his arms dangling over the edge of the bed, with Happy sitting on his head. Gray stood in the corner, leaning against the wall fast asleep, and Wendy was still asleep in another infirmary bed after the healing she'd done on blondie.

I sighed, staring at her face and willing for her eyes to open, for her to wake up grinning, for her to smack Bix for a pervy comment, for her to start arguing with Freed, kick Natsu, hug Happy, deal with Erza and Ever's tears and blubbering with a grin.

Waiting for her to bring back the light to Fairy Tail.

It had been silent since Master Mavis appeared with an unconscious and hurt Lucy. Cana hadn't touched a drop of alcohol, and was bordering on sober, Gramps had willingly shut himself in his office to do paperwork, Mira was constantly crying as she dried the same glass over and over again. Elfman had stopped saying everything was "Man", Macau and Wakaba weren't playing cards or talking, they just sat there. Wakaba wasn't even smoking, and Reedus just stared at his empty sketchpad, while Droy ignored the pile of food in front of him and jet seemed to have become a turtle. Levy looked like she was reading, but the book was upside down, and everyone could see her puffy red eyes. Gajeel just shoved his metal away and crossed his arms, glaring at the ceiling.

It was as though someone had clicked the off switch inside everyone's heads.

It was the middle of the night, and the only people here were Team Natsu, the Raijinshuu, me, Wendy and Gramps.

I saw her keys lying on the bedside table, glistening in the moonlight that streamed through the window, illuminating her face and making it look even paler, like ivory.

I stood up, stretching out my sore muscles and walking over to the window, resting my forehead against the cold glass, watching as my breath condensed against the pane.

'Stupid _fucking_ spirits. Stupid _fucking_ laws. She wouldn't be like _this_ if she could only have told us-' My voice cracked and I felt tears threatening to spill over, my dream still fresh in my mind. Her death... just the idea of it terrified me. When Bix had said that she was... God I could have killed him.

Hearing it said aloud made it real, and my mind just detached. My heart plummeted to my feet, my insides ached, my muscles felt like jelly... I became _weak_.

I growled quietly at myself, snapping my eyes shut as I tapped my head against the glass, forcing those thoughts from my head.

'She's fine. She's alive, breathing.' Told myself, opening my eyes to stare up at the stars.

Suddenly, I heard a gasp behind me, and whirled around. Blondies body was glowing again, shining as her back arched from the bed, her eyes still closed, but her mouth open wide in shock as her body tried to escape gravity.

'Lucy!' I shouted, running forwards and trying to grab her.

Everyone had awoken at my shout, and they reached out to her, but we were suddenly repelled by a magical barrier.

'Shit!' I shouted as my hand was thrown backwards in a shower of angry gold and blue sparks.

'LUCY!' Natsu shouted, jumping forward, only to have his body thrown back so hard he smacked into the wall.

'What's going on?' Erza said, reaching for her friend as she writhed on the bed, her hands clawing at her face before she suddenly went slack.

All that we heard was heavy breathing from all of us who'd awoken, then, her eyes shot open.

**Freed's POV**

'What the fuck?' Bix swore as her eyes opened, revealing pure white orbs, before a blue iris seemed to appear, the colour seeming to move and flux between gold and blue and white, as though it was alive.

'Don't try and touch her!' I called out as she sat up, emotionless and not saying anything.

'What the hell Freed? What the fuck are we supposed to do?' Laxus shouted, frustrated as he reached out to her and was shocked slightly. I frowned before trying to punch her hard, and found myself thrown across the room like Natsu.

I sat up and slowly stood up in pain.

'The more force you put behind trying to touch her, the further back you get thrown. It repels that force.' Suddenly, she sat up straight and her eyes stared straight forward, through all of the people who surrounded her.

'Phoenicis, located.' Her voice sounded robotic as she turned and slid out of the bed, before beginning to walk, padding across the floor with her bare feet.

'LUCE!' Natsu shouted, making a grab for her again, only to be forced back.

'I'll stop her.' Gray growled, icing the ground in front of her and sealing the door with ice.

As soon as she came within two feet of the ice though, the barrier became visible and began to eat up the ice made by Gray's magic.

We stared on in shock as she absorbed his ice into her barrier, before it extended itself to destroy the ice around the door.

'What's going on?' Ever screamed, running to follow Lucy, but careful not to touch the barrier.

'The spell she cast. It must be in its final phase now.' I frowned, before turning to everyone.

'There's nothing we can do, only follow and keep her safe. She's acting as a homing missile, the key she was searching for has been found, and the spell is taking her to it. We can't interfere, it won't let us.' I quickly explained as we ran behind Lucy, who's speed increased as she exited the infirmary.

'Happy, fly Natsu up so he can watch from above, tell us of any dangers immediately, take them out, signal us, anything. You've got the air with Wendy and Charle.' The dragon slayers nodded at my plan, and their Exceed's instantly performed Aera, lifting their friends into the sky.

'Bix, Erza and Gray, take the front, stay ahead and be ready for anything. We need to protect Lucy as much as possible. That barrier might not last.' They nodded, before running forwards, careful to keep a small distance between us.

'We'll keep an eye on the rear and follow up on any threat as well as monitor Lucy's magical capacity. Laxus, thought project Master, tell him what's happening. He must still be asleep in his office. He can contact First and try and get an idea of what's happening.' Laxus nodded, and immediately began to duplicate himself, and I watched his copy running back towards the guild.

'Tch. It sure as hell isn't boring around blondie, huh Freed?' He said, grinning as we ran after her, her pace had increased greatly.

I laughed sharply and Ever glared at us, before focusing on running in her heels.

'We have no idea how long this is going to go on.' I warned them, trying to pace myself to conserve energy.

'We have no idea how far away this key is, nor how long her magic will hold out.'

**Bickslow's POV**

I looked back to see she'd caught up with us, and pushed myself to run faster, sending my babies zooming ahead to keep a better eye open for threats.

I stared back at her, staring into her eyes and analysing her soul.

Right now, it looked as though it had been shrouded in another barrier, protecting it from my Figure Eyes and any spiritual harm.

'Damned cosplayer, can't she slow down for us?' I laughed under the strain, glancing at Erza and Gray. Erza frowned and Gray grimaced as I stuck my tongue out in my characteristic grin before focusing completely on running.

We exited Magnolia, and was headed down the road towards Hargeon, when suddenly we heard a shout from behind us. We stopped to find she'd gone off the path and had began to run through the forest, her feet getting torn up by thorns and brambles as she emotionlessly sprinted through the undergrowth, controlled by that fucking spell.

'Crap!' I swore as a Vulcan appeared out of nowhere. My babies shot forwards, slamming into it's chest before one of Erza's swords took it out, and we carried on running, following behind our celestial mage.

'Hope she finds that freaking key soon. She won't be able to walk for a week as it is.' I breathed out to Laxus. We just couldn't catch up to her.

Through the trees to our right, we could see the towering lights and rides of Akane Resort, but cosplayer carried on running, pushing herself harder and faster.

Suddenly, the tree line broke and there was a river in front of her.

'NO!' I heard several voices shout as she threw her body forwards, but instead of falling beneath the surface, she seemed to step across the rushing water.

"Ice Make: Bridge!" Ice screamed as soon as he reached the river, and we were all running across immediately afterwards, running and running, hoping to catch up to her.

**Ever's POV**

I'd lost track of how long we'd been running. I'd kicked off my heels ages ago, and ignored the stinging pain shooting through my feet, enjoying the few cool moments we had crossing Gray's ice bridge.

I looked up to see most everyone ahead of me, and pumped my arms faster, desperate to catch up. Suddenly, Freed was beside me.

"Dark Ecriture: Wings!"

I smiled gratefully at him, before using the wings he'd given me to go on ahead, easily catching up to Lucy as I dodged the tree branches that stretched out their gnarly limbs, desperate to grab hold of me wherever they could.

The, we entered a large clearing that had a huge old oak tree in the centre, it's leaves bright green and fresh.

Lucy ran straight up to the base of the tree and fell to the ground, digging frantically with her hands, making her nails rip and her fingers bleed.

I reached out to stop her, only to be shoved back by her barrier.

I could only stare on and cry, shouting at her as she dug through the dirt feverishly.

'What's she doing?' Natsu had made Happy drop him off on the ground along with Wendy and Charle.

'Lucy-san!' Wendy called out, running forwards and trying to send out her healing magic, only for it to be absorbed by the barrier.

Everyone had arrived, and we stood around, breathlessly waiting, watching as Lucy's hands got torn to shreds through her own uncontrolled actions.

'Stop it Luce! STOP IT!' Natsu screamed, launching forwards suddenly as tears ran down his face, his fist flaming as he brought it down on the barrier. For a moment, he stayed still, before being thrown back and into a tree around 20 metres away, his fire being absorbed once more.

'We have to wait.' Freed whispered, the pain he felt at having to watch evident in his voice.

I stood beside Lucy, watching as she dug and dug and dug, desperate for her to find the key so the spell could dissipate.

She froze suddenly, causing us all to hold our breathes as she slowly stood and turned to face us, her weird blue, shimmering eyes swirling with a rainbow of colours.

'Phoenicis, acquired.' Her voice monotone as it echoed in the still and silent night.

The eyes faded, to her normal chocolate brown, before she staggered and collapsed, falling into Gray's waiting arms.

Laxus growled, but held himself back when Bix grabbed his shoulder, shaking his head as Lucy was lowered to the floor.

Wendy rushed forwards, and began to heal her feet and hands, crying.

'Hey guys. Why the fuck am I out here, huh?' We heard her croaky voice mutter as she finally woke up, as Lucy.

**Lucy's POV**

My entire body ached and I stared up at everyone who surrounded me, blearily.

I felt something digging into my hand and painfully lifted it up, opening my fist.

I grinned, happily as I recognised the key I held.

I tightened my hand around it once more, tears spilling over my face as I smiled.

'I did it!' I whispered, before falling back into the darkness as Wendy called out my name, unable to hold on to consciousness any longer.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **Hey guys! This is a long one, and will hopefully update again tonight, so watch out!

And in response to a comment from guest reviewer, PERSONOFTHESTARS, I realised after I'd published chapter 8 and doing more research into constellations that I'd made a mistake! SORRY! :( I try not to make mistakes, but I do slip up sometimes, and I just got so into it I forgot to check I'd been accurate! Hope you enjoy the rest of the story though, even through my small blunder! ;)

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**Laxus's POV**

After Wendy had finished healing her up, I carefully lifted blondie into my arms, noticing how she tightened her grip on that damned muddy key that had caused so much trouble.

'I'll take her straight back to the guild. Meet everyone in the infirmary.' They nodded their agreement knowing she needed the rest more than anything.

Natsu walked up to me, and brushed his hand across blondies head. I resisted growling at him, somehow, as he pulled off his scarf and gently wrapped it around her neck.

I don't know who was more shocked out of all of us; Natsu never took of that scarf. _Ever_.

'Sorry Luce.' He whispered, leaning forward to peck her on the cheek and grinning up at me cheekily when he heard the rumble from my chest.

I glared at him as he sauntered away, his hands in his pockets as he whistled cheerfully, Happy flying behind him started talking about fish. It had been the first time since blondie had got back that those two were acting normally.

Erza smiled at me and nodded before turning to walk away.

'We'll see you at the infirmary then. Lucy shall be fine now.' She called back to me. I watched as everyone started to walk away, Freed giving Ever a piggy back so she wouldn't have to walk through the forest in bare feet.

Bix stood beside me for a second, before reaching out and stroking along her cheek. For some reason, I was ok with him touching her, and we both looked down at her, relieved she was going to be ok for sure this time.

'Go on Laxus. Get cosplayer back so she can rest; that barrier must have drained her pretty quickly. I guess that's what First meant about the spell being a huge drain, though it sounded like it was horrible during the casting as well.' He muttered, his babies hovering nervously next to blondies head didn't repeat him.

'Yeah. From what Loke described, it was nasty.' We shuddered at the memory of Loke's sobbing and guilt ridden body as he described what he'd seen when blondie was casting the spell, before he was sent back to the spirit world.

He grinned up at me suddenly, and patted my shoulder.

'Glad Cosplayer's alright now though. See you soon.' He said, before sauntering off, his babies lingering behind before hovering off to follow him.

I smiled down at the blonde in my arms, before turning into lightning and appearing outside the guild seconds later with a clap of thunder to announce my arrival.

I quickly carried her inside and to the infirmary to see Gramps sitting beside her bed, holding her keys in his hands. He looked up and frowned in worry as he saw blondie's limp body in my arms.

'She's fine gramps, just drained according to Wendy. You get my thought projection alright then?' He nodded as he pulled the blankets back and then replaced them over blondie.

She murmured something unintelligible in her sleep as she turned and smiled, holding the key tightly in her hands.

'Mavis appeared after your thought projection dissipated, and explained that she had probably succeeded in casting the spell, and it had probably only just activated as her body had healed enough to cope with the search.' I sat back to stare at blondie as she slept, nodding as Gramps explained it to me.

'Mavis was surprised when you told her about the barrier that surrounded her. She said it just goes to show how high her magical capacity is; apparently it takes a lot to just find the key, let alone set up the barrier. I'm glad you all followed her though, I'm guessing the spell broke down when she found the key?' I grunted my agreement, still staring at her as she slept.

_Wow Laxus, that's not creepy at all._ I thought to myself as I forced my gaze to lift to Gramps, who was grinning at me with that creepy smirk her has, and I glared.

'Tch. Whatever Gramps. As if those guys could handle anything without me. Besides, I got her back fastest.' As I spoke, his grin just widened and become more and more aggravating.

'Shut up old man.' I growled out, jerking my head to the side so I didn't have to look at him.

'Okay Laxus. Thank you, for looking after her. She's special to the guild, to everyone. You've noticed how quiet everyone's been since she's been like this-' He broke off, fingering her keys before placing them on the bedside unit.

'She's more powerful than people give her credit for, so she doesn't need protecting really, she just needs someone to be there. She's spent too much time alone in her life already; much like you and the Raijinshuu.' I glanced at him to see he was smiling sadly down at blondie.

'She really reminds me of you Laxus, of course, she has a much friendlier nature than you, but she's just as strong in her heart.' He grinned up at me before walking over and clapping a hand on my shoulder.

'Don't hurt her Laxus. I know you, and I know her. Think about how you feel, really think, before you do anything.' I looked down at my hands, before nodding. He patted my shoulder, before walking out, yawning.

'Bed for me! I've missed my sleepy time!' He grinned as he reverted to his usual jovial and jokey personality.

**Lucy's POV**

I groaned and stretched out, yawning as I opened my eyes slowly. I'd felt a weight across my stomach, and carefully opened my eyes to see Bix was sitting beside me, and had thrown an arm across me as he'd slept, resting his head on the mattress beside me.

I looked down to see Happy had climbed on top of my legs, and Ever and Erza were both sleeping resting on the bed beside my legs as well, Happy's tail flopped across Erza's scarlet hair. Laxus slept back in the chair on my left, his arms crossed and his chin resting against his chest as he jerked slightly in his sleep.

I smiled, and flushed bright red as Bix mumbled in his sleep, and tightened his grip around my waist suddenly.

'Kyaah!' I whisper screamed, feeling my blood rush to my face as he pulled me across to him, his head pressing against my side through the blankets.

I noticed he wasn't wearing his visor and hood, and smiled shakily, happy that he'd become so comfortable with being around my team that he could take it off, but he was too close right now!

My heart started thumping loudly in my chest, and I heard Natsu groan from on the floor at the foot of the bed.

I quietly pulled my hands out from under the bed, noticing I still had the key held in my hand, and grinned before gently shaking Bix, trying to wake him up.

'Um, Bix?' I whispered, shoving at his arm. He moaned and tightened his grip on me.

'Lucy...' He whispered, sighing. I blinked, before flushing redder than Erza's hair.

Suddenly, Bix's babies appeared from his lap and started laughing shrilly as they rubbed against my face.

"LUCY'S UP! LUCY'SUP!" They screamed out, laughing as one of them smacked Bix on the head to awaken him before everyone else, ensuring he wouldn't get murdered for gripping me.

'LUCE!'

'LUCY!'

'Lucy-san!'

I grinned as everyone shouted my name, wincing at the volume before smiling and sitting up, leaning against the headboard as I was assaulted with hugs, the first one being from Happy, who buried his sobbing face in my chest.

'LUUSSHHHYYYYYYY!' He cried out as I laughed at him. 'I MISSED YOUUUU!'

'I missed you too Happy.' I whispered, my voice slightly croaky.

Laxus suddenly handed me a glass of water, and I smiled gratefully as I sipped at it, sighing as it soothed my sore throat.

'Thanks.' He grunted, before placing his sound pod over his ears and turning away to try and act all aloof, causing me to giggle.

'Lucy! Thank God you're alright!' Erza shoved past Laxus and encircled me into a tight hug, Ever not far behind, her soft brown hair falling across my face as she threw her arms around me and Erza, shoving Bix out of the way. I smiled as I hugged them back.

'Come on guys, I couldn't have been out of it for that long!'

'You've been asleep for days.' Gray said from the foot of my bed, smiling as he crossed his arms over his bare chest.

'Oi Ice stripper, clothes!' Natsu shouted, grinning as he climbed on the bed to launch himself forwards at me as soon as Erza and Ever had released me.

'Shut up ash tray.' Gray muttered, before walking off to find his shirt, not starting a fight for a change.

'What's up with you two? Personality change or what? Where's the fighting huh?' Natsu sat back and climbed off the bed, ignoring the glares he was earning off of everyone as he answered.

'Erza said if we didn't fight you'd forgive us quicker for burning your letters.' I glared at him, making him go pale, before I laughed, grinning.

'I have no issue with you guys fighting, but fight in my apartment again, and I'll kill you. Understand?' He nodded, smiling nervously, before grinning and sauntering off to find Gray.

'Hey, what did you call me a sec ago stripper?' I heard the fight start outside the infirmary and laughed again.

'Thanks guys, sorry for causing all the trouble, but it was important.'

'Lucy-sama, please explain to me what's going on! I need to know! Books are useless when it comes to the spirit realm!' Freed shoved past everyone, his eyes blood shot and crazed through the gale force glasses he wore, holding out a large encyclopaedia in front of me.

'Sorry Freed, you know I can't say.' I smiled apologetically at him as his face fell, before he composed himself and smiled warmly at me.

'I'm truly glad you have recovered Lucy-sama.' I frowned at the nickname and honorific he'd given me, but shrugged, knowing there was no use in stopping him from calling me that.

'Well, do you want to see my contract Phoenicis then?' He nodded avidly, before he frowned again.

'Hold it blondie, no magic for you. Not until Wendy clears you for it. You used up a lot of energy last night.' I pouted at Laxus, glaring at him.

'I'm fine.' I huffed, still clutching my new key.

'Let me check over you first please Lucy-san.' Wendy mumbled, stepping around the people surrounding my bed. I smiled at her nervous face and nodded.

**Wendy's POV**

As I analysed Lucy's magic levels, I was astonished to see that not only were they stable and almost fully restores, her magical capacity had almost doubled in size from over a few weeks ago.

I blinked in surprise, before smiling at her to hide my shock at how her magical capabilities had improved so quickly.

'Lucy-sans magic has been fully restored during her rest, she should be fine for a summons.' Lucy grinned at me before sticking her tongue out at Laxus, who just glared at her.

I was surprised she was so comfortable around the Raijinshuu and Laxus, considering what they had done in the past and how creepy Bickslow and Laxus were. Not to mention Ever had a reputation as a snob, and Freed was very removed.

Although, now I think about it, they were all very concerned for Lucy's well being, as much as Team Natsu had been, and they hadn't left her side for a moment while she was unconscious.

I watched her bicker with Laxus about summoning, and Freed seemed to have a starry eyed look on his face at the small amount of celestial magic he was about to witness.

I turned to see Natsu walk in, his face bruised and bleeding from his fight with Gray.

'Don't get too excited Freed, it's not that cool contracting them. It's cooler when she calls them out to fight!' Natsu grinned, ignoring the glare Lucy shot at him.

**Lucy's POV**

'Natsuuuuu.' I growled under my breath, glaring at him. Before I could finish my threat however, Laxus punched Natsu into the wall.

'Shut up fire breath.' He muttered, before closing his eyes and listening intently to his sound pod.

I grinned before asking everyone to stand back.

'I don't know where he's going to turn up, or how big he's going to be.' I muttered as I held the key in front of me.

I concentrated my magic, feeling it flow down my arm and into the key. My mind detached from my body, and I saw before me a huge silver gate with a red gilded edging.

I frowned, noticing the difference between this gate and all of my normal silver key's gates, but shrugged it off as I began the summoning ritual.

"I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Key of the Phoenix! Phoenicis!"

I opened my eyes as there was a huge shower of gold and red sparks in front of me, before it cleared to reveal a tall young man with flaming red and orange hair. He was shirtless and wore a leather plaited necklace, and had on blood red combat shorts and red sandals.

I smiled and opened my mouth to talk to him, before I realised he was glaring at me, scowling.

'Tch. Stupid busty. I hid my key so no-one would find it. Great, thanks a lot. I was busy, you know?' I blinked in surprise, before glaring.

'What, did you call me?' He smirked, staring at my chest before slowly moving his gaze up to my furious face.

'Take a guess blondie.' I felt steam coming out of my ears, and my aura started to pulse darkly.

'Uh oh...' I heard Natsu whimper from the wall where he was still stuck from Laxus's punch.

'Angry Lushy's come out.' Happy mumbled, covering his eyes and hiding behind Charle.

'Ah, so you're the mage everyone back home's so _excited_ about. Tch. Don't look like much to me, though you do have a nice pair of-'

'LUCY KICK!' I screamed, launching myself off the bed and slamming my foot into his chin, knocking him backwards to slump on the floor. I stalked forwards, fuming as I watched him blink in surprise. I grabbed onto his necklace and yanked on it till his face was millimetres from mine.

'Do you have any idea what I went through to find your bloody key? I need you to help the spirit king before something happens. Now because you aren't contracted, I'm wondering why you didn't step forwards like all the other un-contracted spirits, Ginge.' He blinked, before smirking at me.

'I think I like you busty.' I scowled at him, but backed off slightly when he held up his hands in apology.

'If you must know blondie, I haven't been around that part of the celestial plane, and the usual spirits don't like me for some reason.'

'I bet I know why. It's your cocky mouth.' I muttered, releasing him and stepping back to sit on the bed behind me, suddenly exhausted.

'Yeah, it's part of my charm. Get over it. Besides, I got tired of being contracted to self-absorbed mages who didn't respect me, so I hid my key. Haven't had someone find it in a couple centuries till you decided to go digging.' I sighed, and relaxed, realising I would just have to deal with this guys attitude the same way I dealt with Loke's over the top advances and Taurus's pervyness.

'Okay Phoenicis-'

'Call me Nick. Not even my Mother called me Phoenicis.' He mumbled, pulling himself upright and leaning against the wall, folding his arms.

'Okay, Nick. I want to make a contract with you, and if you agree to respect me, I'll respect you. So keep the comments about my boobs to a minimum and call my Lucy, good so far?' He frowned, considering it, before jerking his head, gesturing for me to go on.

'Okay, what days are you free for summoning and what can you do?' He smirked at me before yawning.

'Well, if you keep up your end of the deal I'll pop out whenever. Unless I'm... otherwise engaged.' He grinned lecherously and I felt myself flush slightly, before I brought myself under control and glared at him.

'Okay, I got some skill with fire, so I'm good for battle, and believe it or not I'm good at healing and crap. Generally not called out for that though, it takes a lot of magic, and their generally not strong enough to deal with it, but you might be.' He mumbled the last bit, before grinning at me.

'That's pretty cool. You might like Natsu, he's a fire dragon slayer.' I gestured to Natsu, who perked up when he'd heard my newest spirit could produce fire.

'Might get a good fight out of him then.' Nick mumbled, grinning at me and ignoring Natsu's glare.

'Well, that's the contract completed. Anything else I need to know before you go join my spirits and help the spirit king? And there is no room for argument here, I'm serious.' I told him, staring into his red flecked, golden eyes. He nodded seriously.

'Nope, nothing else that won't wait. Now I'm guessing it's pretty urgent now, I can feel all the turmoil from your keys. Better get going at my new masters command.' He mocked, bowing extravagantly.

'I told you, call me Lucy. I can accept just about anything except Master or busty. SO quit with the master, alright?' He stood straight and frowned down at me, slightly puzzled before grinning slightly and leaning forward, brushing his lips across me cheek before whispering in my ear.

'I think I might like you, Lu-cy.' He whispered, before disappearing as the growls of my male friends rose in volume.

I sighed, glad that I could help in some way with the issues in the spirit realm.

'Um, Lucy –sama? Is that what all your spirits are like when contracting them?' I giggled as I turned to face Freed, who was frowning in concern, glaring at Laxus and Bix who seemed really angry for some reason.

No Freed, he's obviously got a quirk. They're all like humans, they have their own personalities and opinions. He must of had a bad time of it in the past though. Hopefully, he'll soften up some.'

**Bickslow's POV**

_I'll soften up his face if he touches her like that again. _I thought, glaring at the spot the spirit had disappeared from.

'Lucy, can't you tell us what's wrong with the spirit king? It seems to be effecting you and your spirits.' Erza asked, walking forwards with Lucy's key belt and pouch. I watched as she attached that arrogant jerks key to the key ring and glared at it as she gave it a stroke before touching all of her keys, as if to reassure them.

'Sorry Erza, I wish I could, but I can't. Rules are rules, and I've already caused one to be changed when I saved Loke, I don't think the council would be too forgiving if I did it again without the spirit kings approval.' Erza sighed, but smiled and hugged Lucy, seeming to accept what she said.

'Okay, as long as you're careful, and don't get hurt.' She nodded, smiling and hugged Erza back.

Suddenly, Master burst into the room, and threw himself towards cosplayer.

'LUCY! You're awake!' Lucy laughed at the blubbery old man as Laxus and I glared at how he pressed his tiny old body against her.

'This calls for a Fairy Tail celebration!' He shouted, dragging cosplayer out of the infirmary as she turned begging us for help with her eyes, I grinned at her, my tongue sticking out as I winked.

I laughed out loud as she glared at me before she disappeared onto the balcony, and was welcomed by a cacophony of cheers from the guild members who'd missed her.

'Well, now that that's over... Laxus! Fight me!' Natsu grinned as he jumped up from the floor, his scarf now wrapped around his neck after grabbing it from the bedside table where we'd put it when we'd seen her asleep.

'Shut up flame brain.' Laxus said, his lips twitching slightly as he punched Natsu again and starting to walk out, his cloak fluttering around him.

'You're one hundred years too early to fight me Natsu.' He said over his shoulder as he walked out to get a beer off Mira.

I followed him, laughing as my babies shot past me to hover around cosplayer, shouting her name repeatedly and making her smile.

She was surrounded by everyone in the guild, who had returned to their usual antics, but Levy was clinging onto cosplayer, crying and telling her off at the same time.

'Man, everyone really does love blondie huh?' Laxus muttered before walking downstairs for that beer.

'Yup. They sure do.' I whispered to myself, staring down at cosplayer, my eyes not leaving her for a millisecond since I wasn't wearing my grate mask.

She looked up at me, and we locked eyes for a second, before she grinned and winked, making me blink in shock, before smirking back at her.

_Jeez cosplayer, don't tease me like that. _I thought, running a hand through my hair and looking away.

"Tease! Tease!" I heard the unmistakable voices of my babies repeating my thoughts as they hovered around her head and froze, slowly turning to look to check how angry cosplayer was.

For a moment she looked confused, before she looked up at me and flushed bright red as understanding dawned, and she scurried away with Levy and Mira, who'd clung onto her waist, screaming that she'd never let her go again.

I swore and called my babies back, scowling as they laughed at my expression, but stayed close to me from now on.

**Mira's POV**

_Hm, Bickslow's dolls have been hanging around Lucy a lot, and shouting her name! Wait, did they just repeat what she said!? That never happens with anyone apart from Bickslow! Are they... no! But maybe..._

_AHHH! BLONDE HAIRED RED EYED BABIES! BLUE-BLACK HAIRED BROWN EYED BABIES!_

I scurried towards Lucy, wrapping my arms around her waist, screeching at her about never letting her go anywhere alone again.

_I want to see how Bickslow reacts to you Lu-cy-chan! _

_EEK! I can see it now! Lucy and Bickslow, never thought about that pairing! But their magic is similar... and Bickslow is SMILING! WHERE'S HIS MASK!? OH MY GOD HE'S STARING AT YOU LU-CHAN!_

I grinned and clapped my hands together as I pranced in a circle behind the bar, Lucy having finally pried me off of her to chat with Levy properly.

_YAYY! I have my new pairing! Now to set them up in a... situation..._

**No-one's POV**

The members of the guild who weren't surrounding Lucy looked across to see Mira clapping in a circle and dancing. Everyone shifted nervously.

They all knew Mira had found a new couple opportunity, and they all paled visibly.

The men quickly moved away from the women, and there was a clear divide within the guild, apart from the oblivious Natsu and Gray, and the Raijinshuu who sat at their usual table with Evergreen.

Everyone knew how Mira got when she found a new pairing, and they knew it was an unsuspected couple she was picturing by the evil gleam in her eyes as she plotted away, pouring beer after beer with that dazed look in her eyes.

At that moment, everyone felt pity for the poor pair who were going to suffer through Mira's schemes, until one of them got into a relationship or ran away.

* * *

At that same moment, Master Makarov looked down from the balcony, pleased to see Laxus watching Lucy like a hawk, though he tried to hide it, he saw his gaze magnetically home in on the blonde bombshell as soon as he lifted his mug for a drink.

_Hmm... I would love some blonde grand-children with Lucy's lovely kind eyes and heart._ He grinned devilishly, unaware that Mira was plotting her own pairing for the unwitting blonde.

However, the entire guild noticed the Master's own matchmaking face, and they sweat-dropped at the thought.

Master was even worse at matchmaking than Mira.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: **Hello again guys! As promised, another update today. You are going to LOVE the ending. CLIFFHANGER ALERT! ;) I feel soo evil right now! ;)

But you love it really! xx

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

I glanced up at the balcony again from where I sat with Levy, and saw those red eyes staring at me still. Then he grinned that annoying grin of his, before turning and stroking one of his babies.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, before tossing my hair back and returning to listening intently to Levy as she spoke about some new book shed read. It did sound really good, don't get me wrong.

But that jack-ass was just staring down at me from the balcony. I could _feel_ those eyes of his burning into my skull.

'Lu-chan! Lu-chan!' I jerked and smiled at Levy's frustrated face.

'Sorry Levy-chan, just feeling a bit tired.' Her face quickly turned to one of worry, and she put a hand against my head as though to feel my temperature.

'I'm fine Levy-chan, really.' I giggled as she frowned at me, before she threw her arms around me. I stopped laughing when I heard her sobbing quietly.

'I was so scared Lucy. I thought you were going to die.' I pulled her into my arms, tightly holding her against me till her sobs abated. I peeled her off of me and smiled gently.

'Hey, I'm fine. Besides, how could I die? Who would write such an amazing book that kept even you on your toes with every chapter, huh?' She laughed before hugging me again.

'I'm glad you're okay now Lu-chan. I missed you!' She smirked as Gajeel joined us with a plate filled with iron scraps.

'Gajeel's ok company, but he just doesn't understand books at all.' I raised an eyebrow at her teasing, and how Gajeel glared at her before huffing and munching on his iron.

'Shut up Shrimp. I just don't read any of that pussy romance bullshit.' I laughed as Levy turned to glare at him, enjoying the teasing going on.

'What happened while I was out of it huh? You guys get married or something?' Levy's hand covered my mouth and Gajeel hunkered down, shovelling the iron inside his mouth.

'Ssh! You _know_ what Mira get's like when she gets a hint of a couple! Besides, we're not like that!' She hissed, and I nodded, smiling suggestively beneath her hand and waggling my eyebrows up and down to annoy her. She glared and huffed as she removed her hand and started reading her book, determined to ignore me for a while.

'Good luck Gajeel, from what I hear, Levy-chan is really... _flexible_.' I whispered, making Gajeel choke on his iron and Levy drop her book as her face turned beetroot red, before she started patting Gajeel on the back urgently trying to remove the lodged piece of iron.

'I'm going to go say hello to everyone else now Levy-chan! Bye Gajeel!' I winked as he glared at me while gasping in air, and laughed beneath my breath.

I absolutely loved teasing Levy about Gajeel, because it was pretty obvious to me they liked each other, but they'd seemed to have become more comfortable around one another while I'd been out of everything. I smiled as I wandered over to where Erza, Gray and Natsu sat.

I slipped into the chair beside Natsu, and Happy plonked himself down on my lap before hugging at my chest.

I could still feel those eyes though- staring at me, burning a hole in my back. I ignored it again, and instead pet Happy on the head, smiling down at him.

'Lushy, Natsu got me the wrong fish and now I feel baaad!' I stared down at his big watery eyes, and knew he was playing me, just wanting more to eat.

'Well if you feel ill, no more fish. We'd better go get some medicine, hadn't we Erza?' Erza's eyes brightened, and she nodded seriously, before suddenly re-quipping into a really _really_ short Nurse costume.

'Come Happy! I shall make you feel better!' She said, a huge needle appearing in her hand as she grabbed the little blue exceed, who'd paled considerably when eh saw the size of the needle.

'NATSUUU!' He screamed, but Natsu was already unconscious. Erza had foreseen his intervention, and knocked him out upon re-quipping.

'Um, Erza? I was kidding! He just wanted a fish, you don't have to-'

'No Lucy, he said he was ill. I shall take care of my team mate, even if they do not want it!' I shrivelled under her fiery look as she jabbed Happy with a needle. He yowled, before going really woozy, and hiccupping.

'There. He is fixed. Now Lucy, tell me everything about the job you went on with Laxus and the Raijinshuu.' She sat opposite me, re-quipping into her usual armour, before she let out a glare.

'If they harmed your honour I shall punish them!' I shook my head, my hands raised defensively.

'No! No Erza! They were really nice! I had a lot of fun, and they took care of me really well, promise!' She stared at me, processing what I'd said before nodding and taking a bite out of her strawberry cake.

'Good. I hadn't wanted to harm them, seeing as how they never left your side, the same as us, while you were ill. I had wanted to help personally, but Wendy and Porlyusica forbade me from it for some reason. Look how much better Happy looks?' I glance nervously at Happy, who was now talking to a salt shaker and flirting with it, before offering to fight the pepper shaker for shoving him.

_I owe them two a LOT!_ I thought to myself, nodding to Erza.

'Yeah, I wonder why...' I trailed off as Happy started to try and eat Natsu's hair, and exchanged a grimace with Gray, who was struggling not to laugh.

'Gray, clothes.' Erza said emotionlessly as she took another bite out of her cake.

'GAH! When did that happen?!' He shouted, turning to look for his clothes. I laughed, clutching at my sides and wiping the tears from my face.

'I missed you guys!' I said, as I threw an arm around Natsu and pulled Happy and Gray into a hug after he'd pulled on his trousers. Erza quickly came around and encircled her arms around me, burying her face into my neck.

'I missed you too Lucy! You have no idea how annoying it was going on a mission with them two without you!' I raised an eyebrow as she pulled away from me, causing her to laugh.

'Hey! We didn't even destroy one building this time!' Gray moaned, stripping out of the shirt he just pulled on. We laughed, and I was happy to be back with my team, though I could still feel his eyes burning into me.

I turned my head slightly to look at where he now sat at the bar, and became trapped in his gaze, his red eyes feeling like they stared straight into my soul.

**Bickslow's POV**

I couldn't help but watch her as she wandered through the guild, laughing and smiling at everyone. I watched as she laughed with her team, and glared as she hugged those two idiots and that damned cat.

Sure, I'd grown closer to team Natsu while we'd all sat surrounding her bed while she was in the infirmary. We'd traded stories about her, and laughed at all of the ones team Natsu had to tell. We had very few in comparison, and we got the feeling she didn't want us to tell them about the orphanage, so we mostly listened.

Now though, she'd gone back to them and hadn't come to talk to us. I was jealous.

My babies felt it, as they squeaked in anger every time one of her team touched her, and seemed to squeal in sadness as she welcomed their touch. I'd moved from the balcony to sit at the bar, getting a beer off of Mira, and not noticing the sparkly look in her eyes as I immediately focused on cosplayer again.

I grit my teeth as she laughed with them, desperate to hold back my emotions, and was about to turn away to sit with Ever, Freed and Laxus, when her eyes met mine, and I was trapped.

Her eyes pulled me in and drowned me in their warm depths. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe.

She held my heart in a tight fist just by looking at me.

'Fuck.' I whispered, unable to break away from her gold speckled eyes, their hazel-chocolatey depths drowning me in _her_. There was nothing else, just _her_.

I blinked, breaking the connection before smirking down at her, winking.

I was surprised when she blushed slightly, before glaring at me and turning away to talk to the pink haired idiot.

Then, out of nowhere, the pervy lion showed up right beside her, pulling her into a tight hug.

_Jeez! How many guys do I have to contend with?_ I thought, glaring at the ginger, cat eared guy in his damned suit.

Cosplayer pulled away and stared at him, suddenly serious, and I could tell something was wrong.

She turned to her team, grinning and started to walk away, waving back at them as she exited the guild.

_Something's not right._ I thought, turning to look at Laxus, who had also been watching cosplayer. We exchanged a glance before we stood and exited the guild to follow her.

As we began to make our way to her apartment, Laxus's hand shot out, stopping me as we reached an alley. He put a finger to his lips and we stood at the side of the alley, listening intently.

'_What?... is he... sure?... NO! I can't! ... Loke... That's... impossible!' _I frowned, knowing I wasn't catching the whole conversation, and looked at Laxus, who was frowning as well.

Damn lion had probably cast some sort of weak spell to stop people from hearing them.

_God cosplayer! Why can't you talk to us?_ I thought, gritting my teeth, before I had an idea, and sent one of my babies forward, making sure he understood to stay silent, so I could hear the rest of their conversation.

**Lucy's POV**

'No! I can't! I won't leave after all this. Loke, you need to understand-'

'Lucy, he needs you to be there! He's done as much as he can for him, but he need's your power!' I shook my head, frowning.

'He should be getting enough energy from the spirit world. Are you saying he's can't absorb any more for the healing?' Loke nodded and my mouth dropped open.

'That's... impossible!' I said, my voice louder than I'd meant it to be, and Loke shushed me, glancing towards the entrance of the alley.

'I know Lucy, but a few weeks ago it was impossible for the Spirit King to be harmed in his own realm! Or any realm! He's the freaking king of everything for crying out loud!' Loke clenched his fists tightly, aggravation and worry working its way into his reactions. Suddenly, I thought I sensed something, and my head jerked around, searching for whatever it was, but I saw nothing.

'What is it?' Loke asked, immediately alert.

'Nothing.' I mumbled, frowning before resuming the conversation.

'Loke, Nick should be fine, I can't leave to come to the celestial plane now! I just woke up from that damned spell and everyone's just been celebrating because I'm back. I can't make them go through that, and I have to tell master at least, so no one worries-'

'No Lucy!' He all but yelled before calming himself.

'If you tell anyone, you're in danger of being prosecuted! You're already halfway there because Freed overheard your conversation with Crux! You need to be even more careful from now on! We need to leave, because if he dies, everything get's destroyed. You know that.' I closed my eyes and let out a long breath, resting my head against the brick wall behind and staring up at the sky for a moment before pushing myself away from the wall.

'You're right. But I'm leaving them a note, so they know I'm going for a while. I will not cause my family to worry about me.' Loke's face became strained, before he sighed and nodded in agreement.

'Remember, you can't say where you've gone. Don't say anything, just that you have urgent business for a while, and won't be back for a few months.' I nodded my agreement, before he pulled me into a tight hug.

'I'm sorry this has been shouldered onto you Lucy. If there was any other way-' I shook my head, pushing away before smiling sadly.

'I know. It's alright.' He was still frowning as he stroked my hair out of my face.

'I have to go. I'll be back in an hour to get you, so go pack.' He whispered, hugging me once more before disappearing in a shower of light.

I stood still for a moment, before running out of the alleyway, pausing at the entrance to glance around me. I sent one last look towards the guild, before running back to my apartment.

**Somewhere in the Celestial Spirit World**

'Your Grace, another person has had secrets revealed to them regarding the state of affairs in the spirit world.' A man with pure white hair wearing a black robe with gold edging kneeled on the floor, his head bowed down before another man who sat in a throne-like chair at the head of a large hall.

He had piercing and cold blue eyes, his face pale white, which was brought out even more by the dark cloak he wore. His silver hair had black flecks in it, and he stared down at the reporting officer emotionlessly.

'What mage has revealed our business to a person un-contracted to celestial beings?'

'Lucy Heartfilia, once again Your Grace.' The man in the throne frowned, his gaze somehow becoming even colder as he pursed his lips together in annoyance.

'Once can be taken as a mistake, however, to make such an obvious breach of our laws a second time requires for action to be taken. Lucy Heartfilia shall come forth to the council as soon as her business here with the Spirit King has been completed and he is resting once fully recovered from his illness. Is that understood?' The kneeling figure bowed his head lower, acknowledging the order.

'Good. Go forth and watch her. Ensure she does not try to escape justice.' The figure stood, his head still bowed as he backed out of the room, shutting the immense doors with a resounding boom echoing in the room.

The main in the chair grinned suddenly, his eyes turning feverish as he muttered to himself.

'You shall not escape me this time, _Heartfilia_.'


	19. Chapter 19

**Bickslow's POV**

I grabbed Laxus and had my babies fly us up in the air to land on the roof as Lucy ran out of the alleyway, looking around before heading towards her apartment.

'Bix, what's going on? I couldn't hear much past that damn spell Loke put up.' I quickly gave him the rundown of the conversation.

'So... blondies running off to the spirit world, huh?' He frowned, sitting himself down and glaring at the street below us.

'What do we do Laxus? You know time works differently there! She'll be gone for months!' I felt a pain in my chest, and angrily started pacing, pulling at my hair with one hand as my other clenched into a tight fist.

'We can't do anything Bix. You know what Freed said. There's nothing we can do to help her with this crap.' I froze and turned to face Laxus, shocked.

'What the hell Laxus? Are you being serious here?! How can you stand the idea of her being gone for so long!? HOW CAN YOU ACCEPT THIS?' I found myself shouting at him, my anger boiling over.

'DON'T YOU LOVE HER?' I yelled, grabbing onto his furry coat lapels and pulling him up to stand in front of me. His eyes were closed and I realised that my Figure Eyes had been activated without my knowledge.

I quickly released him and turned away, shutting my eyes and forcing myself to try and calm down. I knew it wasn't working; my fists shook with the fury and pain that coursed through me.

'Bix, you know I love her; maybe differently from you. I know she'll be back, whether it takes months or years. She loves us all too much to stay away. The only way I can accept this, is by telling myself that she's in control, that she knows what she's doing.' I heard him turn to face me and grip my shoulders. I didn't trust myself yet to open my eyes, so listened blindly as he spoke.

'I trust her. Blondie's smart, she'll come back to us, so stop being a selfish bastard and let her deal with her spirits issues, the same way you deal with the problems your babies get sometimes. _Trust her_.' My shoulders sagged and I leant my head forward so it rested on Laxus's shoulder, my eyes still squeezed tightly shut.

I laughed slightly.

'Never thought I'd say this Laxus; but you're right.' I smiled sadly as he scoffed.

'Tch. Shut up idiot. I just know blondie would kick your ass again if you tried to interfere.' I heard him step back before feeling him punch me in the face, knocking me down on top of the roof.

'What the hell Laxus?' I shouted, looking up at him after checking I was in control of my eyes.

'That's for messing with my coat.' He glared at me, cracking his knuckles as he approached and kicked me.

'That's for being a complete idiot.' I laughed as he glared down at me, before turning to walk back to the guild, his hands deep in his pockets.

'I'll miss her too you know Bix, so don't be a depressed ass around me, or I'll fucking kill you.' I grinned as he walked away.

I pulled myself upright and dusted off my clothes, turning to look towards her apartment, before starting to walk my way there after jumping down from the top of the building, my hands buried deep in my pockets and my babies hovering behind me.

**Lucy's POV**

I packed a couple changes of clothes before I sat at my desk and began to write my letters.

I wrote one to Team Natsu, and one to Fairy Tail as a whole. I paused, before I wrote a letter to the Raijinshuu plus Laxus.

I folded them up and left them on my desk. I stood up and looked around my apartment, smiling before a thought crossed my mind.

A random thought I'd never considered and tried to dismiss, but for some reason, my instincts forced me to write another letter.

I nibbled on my lip and fingered the key's I'd removed from my belt in their little pouch, before placing my final letter on top of the pouch, grinning.

I know he'll take care of them for me.

I sensed Loke behind me, and turned to face him, my bag over my shoulder.

'You're leaving your keys?' He questioned, slightly surprised. I nodded.

'I don't know why, I just have a feeling they'll be safer here.' He stared at me before nodding and holding his hand out for me. I took one more look around my apartment, and looked through the window to see Bix standing, staring up at my window.

Our eyes met, and once again I was trapped in his red gaze. I held my breath at the thought of leaving him for what for him would be months, but for me only a day.

It hurt. I flushed red, before tearing my eyes from his and grabbing Loke's hand.

'Let's go.' I whispered. He looked at me, confused, before nodding. I felt my body dissipating into light particles as he burst through the door, stealing my attention.

'Come back cosplayer! Promise me!' He called out, his eyes feverish and his breath leaving his body in deep gasps.

I smiled and nodded, before he faded from my view and I appeared in the celestial realm.

**Master Makarov's POV**

My head rested on my desk. I was fed up of doing all the paperwork that had clogged up my office for months, and Mira was being a demon about me completing it without Laxus; she even threatened to nail the door shut and tie me to the chair with magic restraining ropes.

I groaned as I picked up another request for payment due to the old team Natsu.

'I hope they've changed since what they did to Lucy.' I muttered, angrily signing off on the compensation request, before reaching for another one.

I heard a knock at my door and eagerly called out for them to enter, to see an unmasked Bickslow sombrely enter, holding several pieces of paper and Lucy's keys in his hands.

'What's wrong Bickslow?' I asked, my eyes locked on those keys.

'Read this Master.' He said, handing me a letter addressed to all of Fairy Tail.

_Dear Everyone,_

_ I'm sorry I left with no goodbye's so soon after I've recovered. Please understand, I can't tell you why, no matter how much I want to. I will be gone for a few months, but I promise, I will return._

_Levy, when I get back I'll shut myself away with you and you can watch me write the ending to my book, I already have the plot lined out!_

_Gajeel, get off your big iron butt and ask her out before one of her followers does. She'll say yes, Heartfilia guarantee! _

_Cana, please don't sober up again!_

_Mira, try not to make any new couples get together without me there to see it! Also, please stock up on strawberry milkshakes, I will be back and will be craving your stuff!_

_Master, I'm sorry I couldn't say where I'm going. I love Fairy Tail more than anything, and I wouldn't hesitate to tell you everything if I had a choice. Please forgive me, and I'll even give you a hand with your paperwork when I return!_

_Lastly, please have fun for me while I'm away! I'll be back before you know it!_

_All my love,_

_Lucy_

I slowly lowered the letter to my desk, staring at her neat calligraphic handwriting.

'Why do you have her keys?' I asked Bickslow, looking up at him.

'She asked me to look after them for her.' He stuttered out, staring down at the objects that linked Lucy to her friends and family in another realm.

_Hmm... maybe Bickslow and Lucy... no! Surely not..._

'Have you told anyone else?' Bickslow shook his head and held up two more letters.

'She left one for the Raijinshuu and Laxus, and this one for Team Natsu. I thought it would be best if you gave Erza this...' He muttered, handing me the letter as I smiled, nodding my head in agreement.

'Probably.' I chuckled as I held team Natsu's letter in my hands, smiling sadly.

'It will be strange not having her around. She only just woke up, so I hope no one reverts to how she was when she was injured. I hate seeing my brats depressed.' I mumbled, before smiling up at Bickslow.

'Thank you Bickslow, go talk to your team and tell team Natsu to come see me.' He nodded before exiting the room silently, his totem spirits floating behind him sadly.

**Erza's POV**

My breath hitched and I felt as though my heart was about to stop as I read the letter Master handed me aloud to Natsu, Gray and Happy.

_"Dear Erza, Natsu, Gray and Happy,_

_ I've had to go away for a few months to deal with some problems. I'm sorry, I can't say any more, but please don't bother looking for me. I love you all so much, so be careful without me- maybe you should get someone to come along just so you don't have to handle Natsu and Gray by yourself Erza? _

_Erza, good luck with them either way. Try not to get too annoyed at their fights, it's what their like, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Please don't cry, I'll be fine and I'll return as soon as I can._

_Natsu, try not to destroy Erza's cake anymore, and if you dare break into my apartment while I'm gone, I may have to Lucy Kick you as soon as I'm back!_

_Gray, clothes!"_

'How'd she know?' He muttered, puzzled as he found himself stripping out of his shirt. He quickly pulled it on as I continued reading, tears blurring the letters in front of me slightly. I angrily wiped them away before continuing with a shaky voice.

_"Anyway, Gray, you might not realise it yet, but you do care for her. Just sit her down, talk to her, get to know her, and then decide. I'm betting that you'll be dating before I'm back. Please take care of Natsu and Erza for me, I know that you're sometimes the more sensible one, unless Natsu's involved._

_Please, have fun, or else I'll beat you all to a pulp when I get back, including you Erza! I love you all._

_Good bye._

_Lucy"_

We stood silently in Master's office. My fingers dropped the letter as I touched the tears running down my face. Gray slumped to the floor, staring at the ground, and Natsu just stood as still as a statue.

'Luuuussshyyy!' Happy cried suddenly, tears spilling over his eyes as he bit down on his lip, before he let out his loud sobs.

'Stop it Happy.' Natsu muttered, still standing completely paralysed.

'But... Lushy...'

'She asked us to have fun, or do you want her to be angry when she gets back?' He snapped, before taking a deep breath and smiling at his cat.

'Come on guys. That's the last thing she wanted us to do.' I sighed and wiped my eyes before standing tall.

'Natsu's right, for once.' I said, yanking Gray to his feet and pulling Happy into my chest for a hug.

Come, let's take a mission. I need someone to stop you two from committing murder while my backs turned. I mumbled, forcing myself to smile as we exited Master's office, Gray still in a state of shock.

**Evergreen's POV**

I smiled at Bix as he made his way towards our table, but when I noticed his serious expression, my smile faded.

'Bix, what's wrong?' I asked, leaning forward, before gasping as I saw Lucy's keys in his hands.

'Bickslow, where's Lucy? Freed whispered as he too noticed what Bix was holding.

'She's... gone. She left us a letter.' He whispered, handing it over to Freed. Laxus pulled his sound pod from his ears as Freed opened it up and began to read it for us.

_"Dear Ever, Freed, Laxus and Bickslow,_

_ I'm sorry I didn't say good bye. I had to leave suddenly, and there was no option but to leave without saying anything, or else you'd all question me and try to stop me. I can't tell you where I'm going, or why, but I'll be gone for a few months or more, depending on how long this takes._

_Ever, you've become like a sister to me, and I know you struggle in a team full of insensitive macho men, but I get the feeling you and Erza have gotten pretty close. I know she's a handful sometimes, but she's a great friend, so please look out for her for me._

_Freed, sorry I can't tell you anything, I know it's killing you that there's no information about what I'm going through for you to read, but you'll just have to deal with it. You can borrow as many books as you want from the Konzern or my apartment, and I'd be really grateful if you could get rid of the runes around my house. I asked for them not to break in, but I don't mind, seeing as I'll be gone for a while._

_Laxus, you can be a jerk, and are really annoying, but you're really nice too. Stop trying to be aloof, that's your one and only weakness. Try being nicer to the rest of the guild too; I know you care about them, even if you hide it really well. Thanks for inviting me into the Raijinshuu, and for being there for me, I really owe you one._

_Bickslow, you dare look in my underwear drawer again, you'll regret it. I'll make sure of it! All joking aside, you've been amazing, and I want to thank you for being there to support me, along with everyone else, and for making me smile._

_I love all of you, a lot, so don't be upset that I'm away. Look out for each other and the rest of the guild for me, and I'll be back before you know it._

_Finally, would you guys mind popping into the Konzern to help Julia and play with the kids every so often while I'm away? You're the only ones who know about the orphanage, and I'd like to keep it that way. _

_They should be fine financially while I'm gone, but they could do with some more role models._

_I'd be over the moon if you'd be there for them._

_All my love,_

_Lucy."_

I could barely believe it. She'd just become conscious again, only to disappear to a place where we can't see her, can't protect her.

'Damned blondie. I'm not annoying.' Laxus mumbled, pulling on his sound pod again and walking away into his office before slamming the door.

'Why'd she have to go so soon?' I whispered, ignoring the tears that slipped down my cheeks as Freed put a comforting arm over my shoulder having dropped the letter on the table.

'It's something she has to do. More trouble in the spirit world probably.' Freed said, sighing sadly before looking at Bix again.

'Why do you have her keys though Bickslow?' He asked, staring at the small leather pouch with the golden and silver keys gleaming in the light.

'She asked me to look after them.' He said, clutching them tightly in his hand as his babies hovered silently next to his head.

'Lucy... I hope you're okay.' I whispered, hiding my head in Freed's shoulder as Master stood on the balcony railing, holding a similar letter in his hands as he called for silence.

As he told the guild what Lucy had written, there were sad silences, and small snickers at her little jokes towards people.

However, everyone knew that the mood of the guild had dropped once again. No one was nearly as happy as when Lucy was here.

_It's going to be a long few months with you gone Lucy._ I thought, sighing as I walked to my apartment at Fairy Hills to clean myself up. She'd hate that I cried for her, when she asked us not to.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Hey there guys! DRAMA ALERT COMING UP! This is definitely a long chapter, and probably one of the best too so far. ;) Please enjoy and let me know what you think, it always helps! :) xx

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**Lucy's POV**

As soon as we appeared in the spirit realm, Loke dragged me down a long corridor, and I rushed to keep up with him.

'Hey their blondie.' I heard a familiar voice say from behind me. I ignored Loke's growl as I smiled and looked back.

'Hello Phoenicis. I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch what you called me then?' I smiled sweetly at him, and heard his step stutter slightly, before he coughed slightly.

'Hi Lucy.' He mumbled, and I opened my eyes to see him sending a death glare towards a chuckling Loke.

'Who knew my beautiful Princess would tame the unruly Phoenix?' He laughed quietly, shaking his head slightly, before turning serious.

'Listen Lucy, this is going to be hard for you; you need to power Nick in a major healing. We all know you're strong enough, or you wouldn't be here and Nick wouldn't be able to heal him, so don't worry, it'll be fine-'

'Loke, you sound more worried than me. You calm down, sit back, and watch me and Nick sort this out.' I smiled at him as we stopped outside a huge pair of silver doors, huge engravings etched into the precious metal.

Loke smiled down at me, pulling me into a hug before he released me and threw open the doors, bowing.

'I've brought Lucy to you your highness.' I grinned as I saw Nick bowing, before I skipped up to the massive bed to see a much smaller spirit king than I'd met before.

He was probably only just taller than me, and was incredibly skinny, his wrinkled skin hanging off of him, but that hug moustache was still overwhelming his face as he grinned up at me, all teeth.

'Hey moustache man! What do you think you've been doing huh? Causing us all this worry.' I scolded, crossing my arms and pouting as I sat beside him. Nick's mouth had dropped open at my behaviour and he looked to Loke and all of my other spirits who were present. They just shrugged, yet Libra and Pisces both stared on, just as astonished at my actions.

'Hello, old friend.' He mumbled, his voice still booming and echoing in the room with the power he had left.

'Hey, less of the old moustache man! I'm still young ya know!' I scolded again, poking him in the arm gently, before smiling and hugging him.

'We'll fix you up now moustache man.' I whispered, pulling away and calling Nick, who didn't hear me and just stood staring in shock.

'Hey! Nick! NICK! PHOENICIS!' I ended up shouting his full name to snap him from his daze.

'Uh, yeah? Oh, right...' He muttered, coming forward to kneel beside the bed. I frowned, and pat the bed beside me. 'The closer we are the easier the energy transfer will be. Gemi, Mini, do you have enough energy to turn into me? We can both fuel Nick at the same time, will that work?' I asked, turning to look at Loke, who nodded slowly.

'Maybe...'

'That's a yes as far as I'm concerned.' I heard Gemi and Mini laugh before they transformed into me, and sat on the other side of Nick.

'Okay, I don't know how you do this Nick, so tell me what you want me to do.' I looked at him, and watched as he seemed to blink in surprise, before frowning slightly.

'Umm... okay. Uh, If you just put your hand on my shoulder, you pump energy directly into me and I'll transfer it into healing magic. I'll direct it to his highness, and hopefully it will work.' I nodded, grabbing his left shoulder and Gemini's copy of me grabbing my right.

'Really, how did you get into this state?' I asked moustache man, who chuckled slightly.

'Went wandering in a realm I should have avoided... but I needed to talk to a certain Phoenix...' I saw Nick flinch slightly, his face exuding his feelings of guilt, and he looked at me with trepidation. I laughed down at the wrinkled spirit king.

'You should be more careful moustache man! You could have just let Loke know you were looking for him and I could have found his key; we would have avoided all of this hullabaloo if you'd just asked myself or even Yukino for help!' He chuckled and nodded slightly.

'You may be right old friend!' I pouted at him, ignoring the looks of surprises from the spirits who'd gathered to watch and who didn't know me. All of my spirits just sat and watched smugly, folding their arms and smiling proudly at them.

'Okay Nick, are you ready?' He nodded, holding his hands out in front of him and taking a deep breath.

'Tell me when you need a break, okay?' I told him, smiling as he looked at me in shock.

'Why would you care?' He snapped, causing Loke to growl and some of my other sprits to step forwards, while other spirits gasped in shock with how he spoke to me.

I laughed at his words, before smiling warmly at him.

'You're now part of my family. Why wouldn't I care?' I asked him, before squeezing his shoulder lightly.

'Let's get this over with; and if you over-do it without telling me, I'm going to kick your butt.' I said, smiling to soften the threat.

'Tch. You can try Lucy.' He muttered as he nodded at me and Gemini to signal he was ready.

I shut my eyes and quickly entered the meditative state Capricorn had taught me to do, gathering my internal reserves of magic, and focusing on pumping it all into Nick. I heard him gasp, and jerk at the amount I was pouring into him, and apologised quickly, before slowing the flow till he grunted his approval.

I opened my eyes, still keeping my mind detached, as I watched a golden glow emerge from Nicks hands and settle over the spirit king. Slowly, it spread across his body like treacle, covering him in a golden, glowing shield of light which had blue streaks that flickered within the sparkling gold.

We sat like that for what seemed like an age, and Gemini had to pull out after around five minutes. Their magical energy was struggling to keep up, as they'd used all their own reserves holding onto the spirit king for this long.

I gasped slightly as moustache mans body began to expand and grow, slowly returning to his original size.

I shut my eyes to try and remain in my meditative state, before growling out at him.

'Moustache man, you knock me and Nick off this bed, I'm going to Lucy Kick you!' I heard his deep chuckle, and felt his large body shuffle slightly away from us, and I grinned, my eyes still shut as I pumped more magic into Nick.

'We're nearly there Lucy, just hold on for a little while longer.' He muttered through gritted teeth. I nodded, noticing that my breathing had become ragged at the magic I was expending, yet I could feel more of it, swirling beneath another container.

'Nick, do we need more?'

'We can rest for a minute Lucy-'

'I asked, do you need more energy?' I snapped, my eyes shut tightly. I heard him grunt his agreement as he continued pumping the magic into the spirit king.

'Thought so. Keep going.' I told him, shutting off everything as I reached deep within myself, clawing and scratching away at the sealed lid of the second container filled with my magic.

My eyes shot open and I smiled as I whispered.

'Second Origin: Release!' I heard Nick swear as the amount of magic I was trickling into him quadrupled in size, and I saw the gold light that emanated from his hands was shining a pure white as it flew towards the spirit king as though it was magnetically attracted to his ailing, yet quickly healing, body.

'Just... a bit... more.' I looked at Nick to see a bead of sweat rolling down his face, and rubbed it away with my handkerchief, smiling at his glance of appreciation, before he focused on the task at hand.

I saw moustache man was now sitting up, at his usual size and height, and grinning down at me and Nick.

I smiled, squeezing Nicks shoulder as he slowly stopped the healing process.

'Thank you old friend.' Moustache man said, grinning down at me. I hopped off the bed, not feeling too tired since releasing my second origin.

'No problem Moustache man. Next time, don't go wandering where you shouldn't be! You have no idea how worried you've made me and all my friends started worrying because I couldn't say anything.' I pouted, crossing my arms as he laughed, lying back down on his bed.

'Of course old friend. Take care, and apologise to your friends for me.' I smiled, and nodded, walking over to Nick who was sitting on the floor panting. I rested a hand on his shoulder, and he lifted his head to look at me, blinking in surprise at how concerned I looked.

'Hey, you okay?' I asked, frowning and glaring.

'I told you to tell me if you needed a rest!' He laughed slightly, his eyes sparking with humour.

'Hey, I couldn't get showed up by a baby girl!' I frowned as I rested my hand on his shoulder, pumping some magic into him to power him up again.

'Shut up _old man_.' I muttered as he laughed, pulling me into a sudden hug.

'Thank you Lucy- for caring.' I returned his hug, before pulling away and yawning slightly.

'Well, time for me to go home. God knows how much time's passed back at home!' I said, grinning at my other spirits.

'Since Hime-sama healed His Highness in six hours, you have been gone from the human world for just over a month and a half.' I thanked Virgo, who bowed at me before smiling brightly as I grinned my thanks.

'Wow, better hurry back. I don't want them to get up to too much while I'm away! God, Natsu had better not have destroyed my apartment while I've been here.' I muttered, suddenly worried as I rushed towards the door.

'Oh, see ya soon moustache man! You should visit one of these days.' He grinned and chuckled at me, before winking and raising a thumb up at me. I laughed, before grabbing Loke.

'Come on Loke, I need to get home.' I said, giddy with happiness. It hadn't taken me as long as I'd thought, and I already missed my friends.

I felt so guilty, just upping and leaving. For me, it was only a few hours, but for them it was over a month; I hope they were all okay, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Happy. Then the Raijinshuu, Freed, Bix, Laxus and Ever. They'd become very close family members, along with Master, Mira, Cana, Levy, even Gajeel.

'Wow, I must be homesick if I'm even missing metal head.' I mumbled, earning a slight chuckle from Loke.

'Lucy Heartfilia?' A voice questioned from behind us. And I turned around smiling to see a man with white hair and a white cloak with golden gilded edging standing with two other men, who wore golden helmets and a similar white uniform.

Loke growled at them, and I frowned slightly.

'Yes?' I asked, stepping forward and placing a hand on Loke's shoulder. By this time, all of my other spirits had filtered out of the spirit kings room to see what was wrong with Loke, and had just as violent reactions, sending death glares at the men before me.

'I'm afraid you're going to have to come with me.' The man said, staring emotionlessly at me.

'Why?' I asked, suddenly nervous as I felt Loke's muscles tighten beneath my hand, and watched as Nick shoved past the men to stand beside me, folding his arms as he and Loke shoved me behind them.

'I have a warrant here for the arrest of one Lucy Heartfilia, by order of the Celestial Council.' My spirits shouted in outrage, and Loke growled, his fists lighting up, and Nick's body started to catch fire in various places, his hair flaming bright orange and white with the heat.

'On what charges?' Loke spat out, glaring at the man before us.

'One Lucy Heartfilia is to be arrested on the charge of revealing specific information which had been identified as top secret in regards to the health of the Spirit King to mages not connected to the spirit realm, and who had not been approved to have knowledge of this information.'

'WHAT!?' I shouted out, shoving past Loke and Nick to glare at the man, my arms folded across my chest.

'I have NEVER revealed to anyone about the situation here! I sure as hell wanted to, but I respected the laws in place, and did **not **inform anyone of the circumstances surrounding his majesty.'The man raised an eyebrow at me, before consulting his piece of paper.

'We have evidence here that sensitive information was revealed to one Bickslow, last name unknown, a Seith Mage, and one Laxus Dreyar, a Second Generation Lightning Dragon Slayer approximately six hours 37 minutes ago.' My mouth dropped open.

_Oh God! The alley way! But Loke put up a soundproof spell... unless... Bickslow's babies!_ I felt my face pale as understanding dawned on my face, and I watched as he emotionlessly stared at me.

'No! You're wrong!' Loke growled out. I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder, shaking my head at him.

'No Lucy! Don't! You didn't do anything wrong!' I looked sadly into his eyes before turning to smile at Nick and my other spirits, who stood in shock and anger.

'I'm sorry Nick, I was looking forwards to being good friends with you.' He blinked and reached out to grab me as I walked over to the man. The guards behind me stepped forwards to escort me, and the man lead us down the hallway.

'YOU'VE MADE A MISTAKE ARAMUS!' Loke roared out and I glanced up to see the man leading me away falter slightly, before continuing away. I smiled sadly at all my spirits as I walked past them, waving at them weakly.

'Hime-sama!'

'Lucy-sama!'

'Princess!'

I felt tears trickle down my cheeks as they all shouted out for me, even Aquarius, before the guards grabbed both of my arms and I was teleported away to somewhere else in the spirit realm to await trial before the Celestial Spirit Council.

**No-one's POV**

The guild was bustling away, celebrating the new couple that had finally come together.

Gray smiled down at Juvia, who blushed bright red and turned away sheepishly.

It had taken quite a while for Gray to get Juvia to stop worshiping him as a God, and to see him as nothing more than a man; her man, but a man all the same.

Just as the party was beginning to get into full swing, the guild doors slammed open loudly. Everyone turned to look, and saw Loke and a red headed man standing there, breathing heavily and his eyes sparking in anger.

For a moment, everyone thought Lucy had returned, but when Loke stormed into the guild, searching the room, they realised they were wrong.

Loke and Nick stormed into the guild.

'Where are they?' The red head growled out, his fists flaming as he asked Loke the question.

Loke's eyes locked onto the Raijinshuu's table, and his gaze narrowed as it settled on the two men he was looking for, a vein pulsing visibly in his forehead.

'Over there.' He growled out between clenched teeth, before they both stalked towards the table. Loke grabbed Bickslow by his collar and pulled him upright before slamming a lit up fist into his unmasked face, sending him flying into the wall as Nick slammed a fire engulfed fist into Laxus's face, knocking him off his chair, before he was kicked in the ribs with a flaming foot that sent him into the wall next to Bickslow.

Everyone stared on in astonishment, and before the Raijinshuu could ask what Loke was doing, he screamed in anguish.

'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?' Tears poured down the lion spirits face as breathes chocked from his body, and Nick gritted his teeth tightly, his eyes stormy as he stared at the two men who had stood from their blows and now looked at them in confusion.

'YOU DON'T EVEN REALISE WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO HER!' Their faces paled as they realised they were talking about Lucy.

'Loke! What happened? Where's Lucy?' Natsu shouted out, running over to grab the Lion and shake him, before his arms were thrown off by Loke, who stormed forwards and grabbed Bickslow and Laxus by the collars before throwing them forwards.

'THEY COULDN'T KEEP AWAY! COULDN'T KEEP OUT OF HER BUSINESS! YOU HAVE NO **IDEA** WHAT YOU'VE DONE!' Loke suddenly broke down, falling to his knees and screaming, slamming his lit up fists into the floor, his pain, sorrow and rage being vented on the ground.

The guild stared on in horror as the destruction continued.

Nick walked up to Loke and rested a hand on his shoulder.

'Calm down Loke. I'll settle this.' Loke let out one last heart breaking cry, before quieting off into soul racking sobs.

Nick walked across to the two men who had stood, and were now standing ready for battle.

'What's happened to Lucy? Where is she?' Bickslow asked, his eyes tightly shut to rein in his control over his figure eyes.

'Tch. As if you care. It's because of you listening in on her and Loke's conversation she's in deep shit. Then to make it worse, you go and tell blondie over there what was said. You want to know where she is? The one master I'd accepted in my _entire_ existence as one who earned my total respect and love?' Nick glared at the two men before him. He stood at an equal height Laxus, and glared straight into their eyes with a fiery hatred.

The entire guild was silent, and everyone waited with bated breathes and nervousness, along with worry for their celestial mage.

'She's been arrested, by the celestial council, for supposedly revealing our secrets she was decreed not to speak of. Thanks to you listening in, she's now facing trial, and could be stripped of her magic, along with being condemned to prison in the spirit world. You want to know the sentence given to those mages who are found guilty? A minimum of twenty years. You want to work out how many of you will be alive before she finally returns here, huh? She'd be alone, with no magic. All because you two wouldn't listen when she said she couldn't tell you anything.' He sneered at them as Bickslow fell to his knees, his eyes wide open in shock, his hands covering his face. Laxus just stood there, his eyes wide open as tears slid unnoticed down his cheeks.

'YOU KNEW! YOU KNEW SHE COULDN'T SAY ANYTHING! COULDN'T YOU TAKE THE HINT WHEN I PUT UP THE SPELL TO PREVENT LISTENERS?' Loke screamed once again, still kneeling on the floor and staring up at the mages with confusion and pain. Nick walked across to Loke, pulling him upright before starting to walk away.

'Now if you don't mind, Fairy Tail, we have a trial to get to, where we will fight to save the woman we love with our _everything_.' Nick sent a final glare to Bickslow and Laxus, who were frozen in shock. The only sounds coming from Bickslow moaning as he cried into his hands, muttering her name between his body-wrenching sobs.

'Wait! What can we do to help? Please!' Bickslow called out, standing giddily, stepping forwards.

'I think you've done enough.' Nick muttered, glaring over his shoulder, before he and Loke disappeared.

'No... Lucy...' Bickslow whispered, before dropping to the ground and staring up at the ceiling, as Fairy Tail began to shout out their own pain at thought of losing Lucy forever.

'Why didn't you listen to me?' Freed said under the cacophony of noise. Laxus and Bickslow turned to look at their friend, who passed a sobbing Evergreen over to Elfman.

'I told you, countless times, of how she couldn't say any more. HOW THERE WOULD BE CONSEQUENCES!' Everyone quieted down when they noticed Freed shouting at Laxus and Bickslow.

'I'm disappointed in you Laxus. Bickslow, I thought you cared about her more than that, and I believed that both of you trusted her more than that.' Freed shook his head, before calling over to Levy.

'Levy. We should go and see if we can find out anything to help Lucy. A book on celestial law or something, anything. We must be quick; the time difference isn't in our favour.' He and Levy quickly made their way to the library, Levy drying her eyes desperately as she followed after Freed.

'Lucy... I'm sorry...' Bickslow whispered, resting his head against the cold tiled floor as his tears fell uncontrollably.

'_Forgive me_...'


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** Sorry for not updating yesterday guys! I was going to, but I was busy all day and didn't have enough time to write a good chapter for you, and didn't want to submit a sub-par or a short piece for you all. :)

Hopefully, this answers some of the questions people have asked in their reviews, and all other information shall be revealed soon. :) 

You'll love the ending I have planned... maybe. ;) :) xx Enjoy!

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**Lucy's POV**

I sat in the cell they'd put me in, my hands clutched tightly together as I nibbled on my lip nervously.

I don't see how they can condemn me for another person's actions; I'd been incredibly careful and secretive about all this, how was I to know Bix and Laxus had followed me and listened in?

Of course, I wouldn't want them to suffer in my place, they were only concerned for me.

But why is the council being so strict and narrow minded about this?

Although I'd healed moustache man, he was still tired, and needed more rest before he was able to come and help me. He was the only one who had power over the council.

'Lucy, I'm sorry-' Loke appeared outside the cell, flanked by two guards. He stared at me, his eyes red and his cheeks stained with tears.

I smiled and walked up to the bars, reaching through and placing my hands on his cheeks.

'It's okay Loke. It's not your fault.' He stared at me, regret and pain shining in his eyes.

'I should have noticed. I should have protected you better than I have-' I frowned and squeezed his cheeks, cutting him off as his words slurred.

'It's not your fault Loke, so stop it.' He smiled shakily and nodded. I grinned and released his face to clutch the cold bars.

'How's everyone else?' I asked, suddenly feeling serious as I thought about all of my friends.

'Distraught. Aquarius is furious, and Capricorn looks like he'll murder any council member who comes within his sight!' I smiled sadly, tears gathering in my eyes.

'Hey, pansies, can't you give us some privacy with our master?' Nick's voice suddenly called out from down the corridor, and the two men flanking Loke glared, before stalking away.

'Hey Lucy.' He said, smiling slightly as he appeared beside Loke. I smiled up at him.

'Hi Nick. How's moustache man?' I asked as I tried to distract them from my situation.

'He's sleeping like a log. Seriously, you'd think he was the one who'd done all the healing.' He muttered, grumbling as he stretched out his shoulders, his muscles flexing in the dim light making me turn a faint shade of red. Thankfully, they didn't notice as I bent forward so my hair could cover my face slightly.

'Listen Lucy, they aren't going to go easy on you. His majesty is resting, and you were over heard by Freed when talking to Crux. The council wanted to pull you in then, but the king spoke for you. Now he's out for the count for who knows how long, they'll be trying to pin this on you as quick as possible for some reason.' I frowned and nodded slowly.

'So they really want me arrested for this, huh?' I chuckled in an attempt to hide my stress and fear that grew within me at Nick's words.

'Lucy, we're working on a way for you to counter their accusation. Crux is researching everything he can, and me and Nick are gathering evidence to prove your innocence. The others are trying to hold off the trial for as long as possible. We want you to know, we'll free you. We promise.' Loke whispered fiercely, clutching the bars beside my hands.

I smiled shakily before nodding.

'Thanks guys.' They smiled at me and I raised an eyebrow at Nick.

'I like this nice side of you. Maybe I should get in trouble more often?' He laughed lightly and winked, folding his arms.

'Better not blondie; you do this again I'm running for the hills. Way too much hassle.' He smiled gently to counter the mock seriousness in his tone, and I laughed.

'Oh, do you think you could go let Fairy Tail know I won't be back for a while? I miss them already, I can't imagine what they feel.' Loke and Nick exchanged glances, before Nick smiled casually. However I knew Loke's guilt face.

'What did you do?' I asked, serious immediately. I knew they'd done something when neither of them spoke and refused to meet my eyes.

'Loke. Tell me.' I felt panic rising from my stomach and up to my throat, making me want to puke.

'We visited. I was angry, well, we both were... when we found out what Bickslow and Laxus had done-'

'They did nothing! They were worried, and made a mistake, it's not their fault and I don't blame them! What did you tell them!?' I asked, my voice rising with my worry for my friends and family back in Fiore.

'We told them the truth. That due to their actions you were facing trial and if unlucky could be jailed here for 20 years. We may have vented our anger on those two as well, but they got nothing they didn't deserve.' Nick spat out, his fists and hair beginning to flame as his eyes lit up with anger at the thought of my imprisonment.

'Why?' I whispered, my gaze switching between Loke and Nick, pained and saddened.

'Why would you do that? There was no need for you to hurt them! Bix was worried, so was Laxus... I forgive them, though there's nothing to forgive them for! How can you get angry for them being concerned about me?' My voice was barely audible, but I knew they heard me. They looked slightly guilty, Loke more than Nick.

'Lucy, it's his fault for making his doll listen in! Why should we forgive them? I could lose you and I only just found you! Don't you know how _I_ feel? I just found a good master, one I can respect, and they have put you at risk! _I **will not** lose you_.' Nick growled, furiously, his body flaming before he took a deep breath to calm himself.

'Nick, I'm not going anywhere. Knowing Fairy Tail, they're all scrambling to find a way to help, and I have faith in them and all of you. You're **all** my family, and I love you all with all my heart. Now I want you both to go and apologise, and work with them. Please, for me at least.' I stared straight into his flaming red eyes, watching as his anger died down and he sighed, turning away and rubbing a hand through his hair.

'Why do you have to be so damned nice?' He whispered as I smiled up at him, grabbing one of his and Loke's hands through the bars.

'I trust you, now get moving. I don't want my friends thinking I hate them.' _Especially him._ I thought in my mind as I smiled up at my friends.

'Okay Lucy, we'll do as you ask. A day has passed here now, so it's been three months since they last saw you, probably around a month since we showed up and gave them a fright.' Loke told me, glancing up the corridor as the stamp of guard boots echoed down the hallway. I smiled at them both, squeezing their hands tightly before releasing them as the guards stepped around the corner.

'Visiting hours are over. You shall leave. The prisoner shall rest for her trial tomorrow.' They both glared at the guards, before shooting me a sad glance and walking away.

I shivered suddenly at the loneliness, and wandered across to the pallet bed that stuck out from the wall, sitting on the thin mattress and wishing for my own feathery bed.

I lay back down, resting my head on the thin pillow before sighing as I stared up at the dull grey ceiling.

'... I love you...' I whispered, picturing his face in my mind as I drifted off into a restless sleep.

**Mira's POV**

I handed him another drink. Since Loke and that other spirit had visited about a month ago, he'd reverted back to how he'd been when he first joined the guild; except this time he was old enough to drink away the pain.

Her keys were strapped to his belt, safe and protected at all times. For a while, he'd stopped wearing his mask, but now it was back.

Apparently, since that day he'd lost all control, and just couldn't grasp the willpower to stop his Figure Eyes from remaining active.

No one knew how her being gone would affect him; but it had got to him more than even Natsu, who was never in the guild anymore. He'd been going out on missions with the rest of team Natsu and Lisanna, only picking jobs that had any relevance to celestial magic, and interrogating anyone he met about the spirit world. More often than not, he got useless or no information.

We'd already visited Hibiki from Blue Pegasus, but he had no information about the existence of a celestial council, let alone any laws that they enforced. I had also called Yukino from Sabretooth, asking if she could give us any information or hints on how to help, but she herself was tied by the same laws Lucy had been, and cried as she'd told me she couldn't help.

The guild hadn't been the same since that day. The Raijinshuu became even more isolated, from everyone else and each other.

Freed hadn't gone on a mission since, and had shut himself up in the guild library, constantly reading away. Levy was the same, but she'd travelled with Gajeel and Pantherlily to archives and libraries all over the country, searching for any information to help our celestial mage.

Laxus had sunk into his own form of depression. He never spoke, ignored everyone, and I saw him many times just staring at the wall, his eyes empty and his sound pod resting uselessly against his neck.

Bickslow was the worst though. He never left the guild till late, and arrived as soon as I opened up in the morning, and drank all day. He never shaved or washed, and a black beard covered his chin and cheeks. His babies remained silent now, they just sat there lifeless beside him as he drank and drank; only moving when he left and arrived.

I'd suspected he loved her, but I only now realised how much now that she was gone... and might be gone forever.

Tears sprang into my eyes, and fell to the ground as I pulled out a bottle of vodka and placed it beside Bickslow, who grunted his thanks.

That's the only way he communicates now. He doesn't even smile, or stick his tongue out and make pervy comments. He just sat there, drowning in alcohol, sorrow and guilt.

Suddenly, a golden light appeared beside him, and Loke and Nick stood there, refusing to look at him.

Bickslow slowly turned to face them, staring at their faces, before facing the bar again and lifting the bottle to his mouth before downing half of it in one go.

'Loke, is she alright?' I rushed around the bar and grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to face me.

'For now. Her trial's tomorrow, in other words, another three months on Earthland.' He smiled slightly, yet his stress and worry were written across his face. He'd changed too. He seemed to not care how scruffy his hair and clothes had become, and wasn't wearing his signature sunglasses. I nodded slowly, releasing him as he turned to face Bickslow.

'Listen Bickslow; we were out of line back then... it's not your fault. We just... needed to blame someone other than ourselves.' He whispered, his hand running through his hair as Bickslow ignored him, still drinking.

'We spoke to her... just now.' Bickslow froze, listening intently just as the rest of the guild was. Laxus suddenly appeared beside us, and stared straight at Loke, showing more emotion in his eyes than he had for over a month.

'She said to tell you both... she doesn't blame you. She knows you were both worried, I guess we all do, but... she misses everyone, and wants us to work together to get her out of there.' Loke's words had trailed off into a whisper as Bickslow slowly turned to face him, the empty bottle of vodka left abandoned on the bar.

'Are you... sure... she forgives me?' Those were the first words Bickslow had spoken since he said her name, crying on the guild floor at the loss of her.

'Jeez man, we don't have the time to deal with pussyfooting around your bloody feelings! Loke already said, she misses you, doesn't blame you, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah. Get over it. Now are you going to help us or not?' The red headed spirit beside Loke crossed his arms across his muscular bare chest as he glared at Bickslow and then Laxus. Despite his bravado, I could sense his worry for Lucy.

'Nick, shut up.' Loke growled, shooting the red head his own glare before turning to Laxus and Bickslow.

'Please. We need to know what you heard, and we need to figure out how to defend her. To do that, you need to recall everything about that day.' I looked at Bickslow, and say tears sliding into his beard before he could turn away and swipe his arm angrily across his face.

'We'll do it.' Laxus muttered, his voice hoarse from the lack of speaking.

'We'll all help.' I stepped forwards, resting my hands on both Loke's and Nick's shoulders.

'Lucy is our family, we could never leave her alone. I'll go get Freed, he's been piecing together references and small clues and hints for months now. He might have found something.' I smiled as I turned and ran down to the library.

Finally, we had some word on how Lucy was, and we were asked for help.

This time, we'd save her.

**Bickslow's POV**

I stared at the spirits before me, remembering the day they told me I may never see her again. I felt my heart seize at the mere thought of it, and clenched my hand tightly around the neck of the half empty bottle of vodka Mira had left me.

I knew I looked awful, but nothing could bring me back from the precipice I was inching across. Guilt consumed me, mind, body and soul.

'I... I didn't want her to deal with it alone.' I whispered, remembering why I'd gone and listened to their conversation, using one of my babies to get around the spell Loke had placed.

I stared at the bottle, a drip of the throat-burning liquid slid down the outside of the glass, hitting my hand and spreading across my skin.

'We saw you appear next to her. She went from happy to serious within seconds. We knew something was wrong, but she just grinned and left the guild, walking away. We followed her, wanting to try and help, or at least reassure her we were there...' I removed my hand from the glass, and stared at the alcohol glistening on my skin.

'We only heard snippets of the conversation. Even I could only catch the odd word.' Laxus had taken over from me, seeing my emotional state was resting on the brink of hysteria.

'Bix sent one of his totems forward, and listened in, then told me what had been said. Bix said his totem heard how the spirit king was injured in his own realm, and that ginger here needed her to come to the spirit realm. You started shouting about how she couldn't say anything to anyone, because Freed overheard something with Crux, and how if he dies everything's destroyed. That's about it.' Laxus said, his voice hoarse and he coughed as he finished speaking to the spirits in front of us. Loke frowned and lifted his hand to rub across his face, pinching the bridge of his nose.

'That's not enough to prosecute!' Nick exclaimed angrily, grinding his teeth together.

'I know Nick., That's why I've been so confused. I know about the Freed thing, but even then, it was coincidental that he heard anything. This was purposeful on their part, but they shouldn't be trying to prosecute Lucy for that. What's going through the councils minds?' Loke muttered, frowning in puzzlement.

'Wait... what we did... shouldn't have gotten her in trouble?' I whispered, standing in desperation and shock at his words.

All this time, I'd blamed myself and my inability to leave well alone where she's involved. I'd cut myself off from everyone; Ever, Laxus, Freed... even my babies.

'Course not. That was barely anything! I assumed she'd spoken of something seriously big and you heard something, jeez, why are those white coated bastards trying to do this Loke?!' Nick was trying to get a hold on his anger, but his voice raised slightly in agitation.

'I don't know!' Loke exclaimed, turning to growl at him.

'You think the council likes any of us? They've been doing whatever the hell they want since the kings been out of it.'

'What if someone at the top doesn't like Lucy-sama?' Freed's voice echoed throughout the silent guild. Near everyone was off on missions, all to do with celestial magic, in an attempt to find some way to get in touch with or help Lucy.

Loke turned to face Freed, who looked even worse than I did.

His eyes were half-closed into slits, and the whites were completely bloodshot around his piercing blue irises, and dark bags stretched beneath his eyes.

He shook slightly as Mira guided him forward, worry for his condition covering her face.

'No... the High Councillor is immune to emotions. It's not possible for him to have any sort of grudge; that's why he is the Judge for the trials, he's truly neutral.'

'So it's as impossible as it is for the spirit king to be attacked in the spirit realm, for the High Councillor to express dislike to a successful celestial mage?' Freed questioned, not even shaken slightly by Loke's argument. For a moment, both spirits froze, exchanging wide eyed looks before Loke swore.

'Maybe... Nick... do you think...' I saw the red headed spirits eyes widen, before he nodded slowly.

'Could be...' He muttered, stroking his chin between his thumb and forefinger.

Another golden flash signalled another spirit's arrival, this time it was a giant goat man. I blinked in surprise, before managing to rein in my reaction.

'Loke, I heard your summons, and I already know of the conversation as well as your train of thought.'

'Would you care to fill us in too?' Laxus growled, his lightning making its first appearance from his body for over a month. Losing her had affected him in several ways as well as everyone else.

'Of course.' The goat man said, his eyes hidden behind black sunglasses as he looked at us.

'Long ago, a celestial mage was invited to the spirit realm, the only one other than Lucy-sama to of visited. She encountered the spirit who is now the High Councillor while visiting, and there was a slight altercation between them. She left and never returned, turning down all other invitations before she quit being a celestial mage. It is my belief that the spirit had said or done something to scare her, and she denied him. This man is very possessive, and proving now to be overly obsessive. It seems he wishes to get revenge for her rejection by ruining Lucy-sama's chances as a mage and destroying her chance at life.' I frowned as he finished.

'Why Lucy though?' I asked, confused before Loke answered me; his words causing me to fall onto my seat in shock and for Laxus to growl in frustration.

'Capricorn was contracted to that mage; it was Layla Heartfilia, Lucy's mother.'


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:** Hey everyone! Another cliff hanger here! Sorry, but I couldn't help it! I swear I'll update tomorrow as soon as possible! :) You're going to LOVE what I've got in store for you all! Thank you for all of the continued support, and once again, enjoy! :) ;) xx

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**Laxus's POV**

'Wait- this guy's supposed to be a neutral judge? How the hell did he get there if he hates blondies Mum so much? I'm pretty sure that goes against neutrality.' I scowled at the goat, whose arms had folded across his chest.

'He's an extremely deceitful man. He's patient, cunning and now he seems to have turned to evil means in order to exact his own pitiful idea of vengeance. We call spirits like him The Fallen; they've lost faith in goodness of mankind, and embrace the darkness each of us holds inside our hearts.'

'Okay, I get that. Now what do we do? Lucy's in danger with that psycho freak trying to get her thrown in prison!' Bix stood, staggering slightly from the amount of alcohol that flooded his body. I grabbed him, stopping him from falling to the floor and turned to face the three spirits in front of me.

'Is there anything we can do?' Mira asked before I could, her small hands clenched into fists as her aura darkened, signalling she was only just holding back her Satan Soul.

'We can't bring people to the spirit world without a direct invitation from the spirit king. When Lucy's friends visited before the Grand Magic Games, they were invited on a one time only basis by the spirit king to a part of the spirit world he'd separated from the rest specifically for them. Lucy is in the centre of our world. You can't even come close without his say so, and he's... unavailable.' Loke was clenching and unclenching his fists in an attempt to release his stress, and Nick was leaning against the bar, his arms crossed and his eyes closed; he muttered to himself as flames began to emerge from his body, obviously trying to calm himself before he started a fire in the guild.

'Loke. You _know_ what Fairy Tail is about, more than anyone. You're a member. You know, we physically _can't_ leave a member to deal with something by themselves. We _need to go to her_.' I enunciated every syllable carefully and calmly, though anyone and everyone could see my anger resonating through my trembling body.

'This guy, whoever the hell he is, is threatening the happiness of one of us. There is no way we can allow her to handle this alone.' Loke stared straight into my eyes, and blinked, before slowly smiling.

'You know, you really have changed a lot Laxus.' I stared at him, not moving an inch. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

'Hey, lion-boy.' I turned to face the ginger, who had managed to rein in his flames and was now grinning at Loke with a smug smirk.

'Didn't the big guy appoint you as his stand in during the course of time he was out of it?' Loke nodded his head slowly, slightly puzzled with flame head the seconds reasoning.

'Well, I believe that would indicate the powers and responsibilities of the spirit king have been temporarily transferred over to you, right?' He said, his hands opening up and gesturing forwards, palms upwards.

'Of course! Nick, you're a fucking genius!' Loke grinned and with an elaborate flick of his wrist, and a flash of gold light, his sunglasses appeared in his hands. He flicked them open and slid them onto his face with a practiced and defined manoeuvre.

'Course I am. I've been spending my time these past few centuries away from you idiots.' The ginger spirit said, grinning as he crossed his arms once more. The goat man grinned before leaving in a bright white light.

'Laxus, gather Fairy Tail. We're going for a little trip to the celestial world.' I smiled slowly, nodding at Loke, before dumping Bix on a bar stool.

'Sober him up Freed, and Mira, give him a freaking coffee. He looks like a damned zombie.' We were all smiling as I ran up to Gramps office and pulled out the master communication lacrima.

Everyone was now assigned with one, so that if any information about Lucy was found, we could report it in immediately.

'Laxus, what's going on?' Gramps asked, looking up from a piece of paperwork.

I turned to face the old man, and felt my heart sink. Lucy's absence had affected everyone; including Gramps hadn't smiled or laughed since her disappearance, and had willingly shut himself away to go through the barrows of paperwork he'd always avoided like the plague.

I smirked at him.

'Fairy Tail's going to go get back one of your brats Gramps.' I watched as he frowned slightly, before realisation dawned on his face, making it split into a blinding grin as tears tracked down his wrinkled cheeks.

**Erza's POV**

We silently walked outside the train station, me dragging my wagon filled with luggage, and Natsu carrying Happy on his head with Lisanna walking beside him. Gray lagged behind, picking up the shirt we didn't have to tell him he'd stripped out of.

This was the eighth mission we'd been on this week, and there was still no clue as to how we'd help Lucy.

Suddenly, the communication lacrima in Lisanna's bag rang urgently. We all exchanged glances before we scrambled to answer.

'What is it? Have you found any info for Luce?' Natsu shouted as Laxus's face appeared grinning at us.

'You guys must be closest. Get your asses here quickly. We're going to go get blondie back, right now.' I drew in a deep breath and Natsu whooped, jumping into the air, his fist pumping.

'Wait, Laxus, what's going on?' I asked, wary as to whether this was true or not. I know that Laxus has changed immensely since the Thunder Palace incident, but since Lucy had gone... he seemed to have become an emotionless, walking and breathing corpse.

'Loke and that ginger spirit turned up, and we talked some stuff through and figure it out. Blondie's innocent, the charges against her are exaggerated. The guy at the head of the council has a grudge against blondies Mum, and is trying to take it out on her.' Laxus grinned evilly through the lacrima.

'I figured we could go show them Fairy Tail's opinion on their treatment of one of our family.' As Laxus explained, we'd all become more and more angered at how this person dared treat one of ours that way.

'I'm all fired up!' Natsu growled out, smirking as his eyes glittered with more life than I'd seen for weeks.

'We shall be at the guild within two minutes.' I said, nodding at Laxus in thanks as he smirked once more.

'I'm going to be communicating the rest of the guild, they're too far away to get back quick enough. I want her back as soon as possible, so we're leaving as soon as you get back. We need the rest to defend the guild while we're gone.' I nodded my approval and agreement.' She's been gone for too long to spare another second away. Thank you Laxus.' The other three had run on ahead of me as I stormed through the streets, my carriage of belongings bouncing precariously along the narrow streets, only just avoiding all the pedestrians.

Before the communication was broken, I could have sworn I heard Laxus mutter:

_'I didn't do it for you.' _

**Lucy's POV**

I was suddenly woken up and dragged out of the cell, cuffs slammed onto my wrists before I could dully awaken.

'What-' I squealed as a gag was shoved over my mouth, and I felt my eyes widen as the guards dragged me roughly down the long corridor.

I stumbled along, my feet dragging along the uneven stone surface.

I desperately looked around, trying to find a way out, only to see nothing of any help.

I tried to access my magic and call out to one of my spirits, but I found myself blocked from my magic.

_Crap!_ I thought as I looked down at the magic restraining handcuffs that looked more like 18th century shackles.

I was quickly dragged along dark hallways and corridors, before I was shoved into a well lit room.

I winced and shut my eyes, slowly opening them as I adjusted to the brightness.

The gag was removed from my mouth, but I remained silent as I looked around.

I stood in the centre of a hug circular room. I seemed to be in an arena of sorts, and surrounding me were high walls, yet seated at the top, rather than an audience, were twelve men, their faces covered by a white veil, and they wore huge white cloaks that dwarfed their figures.

A thirteenth man sat in a type of throne, set higher than the rest.

I looked up at him, as he was the only one with an uncovered face.

'Lucy Heartfilia, you are accused of revealing secrets of the celestial realm to outsiders, without permission or knowledge of any of the higher powers of our realm. Do you deny the charges?'

I stared into his dark, cold eyes, and saw deep within their seemingly emotionless pits, an engrained and malevolent hatred. I took in a deep breath and steadied my nerves, raising my head and straightening my back, looking up at him with disdain, trying to mimic the haughty look Ever reserved for people she didn't know.

'I do.' I said, my voice cutting through the silence like a knife.

The twelve other men began to mutter between themselves as I stared straight up at the guy in the throne, who's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

I narrowed my eyes at him, and felt an intense dislike for the person overshadow any of my nervousness and fear.

'Why is my trial held now? I had been told it would be held in the morning, however I haven't been asleep for more than a few minutes before I was rudely dragged before all of you.' The mutterings became outraged cries at my audacity to question them, but I ignored it and retained my calm demeanour.

The man held up a hand for silence, and he stared straight into my eyes.

'We felt it appropriate to sentence you now, before your spirits decide to intervene in their masters sins.' I glared at him, stepping forwards, only to be pushed back by a magical barrier.

'I am not their master. I am their friend, and I look at them as my family. I find your insinuation that I control them to be insulting to my beliefs.' His eyes narrowed into a glare that rivalled Erza's, and I couldn't help but respond in kind.

This guy somehow managed to push all my buttons with very little effort.

'You dare insult the High Councillor?' The man who'd arrested me stepped from some shadows in behind the councillor's chair. I broke my gaze with the creepy throne guy, and looked at the man. He was enraged and stared at me dangerously, his hand on the hilt of a sword that had been enclosed within his cloak.

'Aramus was it? I hope you realise, that Loke was right. You're making a mistake by trusting this man.' I gestured up to the creepy guy with both my hands, the handcuffs chains rattling with my movement.

'Silence. You shall face your charges and shall be punished according to your sins!' The creepy guy said, his voice rising slightly.

I scowled up at him, my arms dangling uselessly in front of me.

_Well, might as well go out with a bang! I'm not letting them get me that easily._ I thought, gritting my teeth and raising my head once more.

_' Never show them weakness Lucy; they're like wolves, waiting for the first sign of doubt in your posture, voice, eyes. Once they see that, you've already lost. Never show them what you're truly thinking. That's how you survive.'_ My Father's voice echoed within my mind as I made my stand.

'I believe I have the right to make my defence known.' I called out, my voice not shaking in the slightest, despite the amount of eyes I felt boring into my body as they assessed me and judged me.

'I have already decided you are guilty of the crime; we only have to go through this charade in tradition.' I took a deep breath before staring at him, my anger boiling over.

'You're lying! I have a right to defend myself against these false charges!' The volume of my voice had risen, and I glanced at Arums, noting the confused look he sent towards the creepy guy.

_I was right. I can defend myself; he's trying to stop me._

'Why do you wish to imprison me so much?' I asked, glaring at the guy in front of me.

He smirked slightly, before recovering his emotionless mask.

'I only wish to sentence the traitor accordingly. By the decree of the High Councillor, you, Lucy Heartfilia, are sentenced to-'

Suddenly, the doors behind me burst open, cutting off whatever the guy was saying. I spun around to see Loke and Nick charging forward, only to be thrown back by a second magical barrier beyond the one that enclosed me.

My eyes widened in shock, and I smiled in surprise as the Raijinshuu and Team Natsu appeared along with Laxus and Mira, who was in full Satan Soul form and glaring at the men around me.

**No-one's POV**

Lucy stared as they tried to break through the barrier; even Freed's runes were unable to penetrate it.

'LUCY! He's trying to get back at you for something to do with your Mother!' Lucy's face turned to one of confusion as she listened to what Loke was shouting out.

'GET RID OF THEM!' The High Councillor screamed, his face contorted into an ugly picture of fury and hatred. Shocked, the guards immediately sprang into action, following orders despite their own minds wondering what had happened to the High Councillor, who was known for his impartiality and emotionless demeanour.

'LUCY! Layla rejected him years ago! He's been plotting his revenge for years, but the Spirit King stood in his way! He's still resting, so has no idea what's going on! THAT GUY'S TRYING TO KILL YOU FOR HIS OWN FEELINGS OF REVENGE!' Nick screamed out the last words as he fought off some guards who'd come forth with swords drawn.

Lucy watched in shock as she processed the information.

Nick suddenly burst into flames, his body changing slightly into another of his forms; red and golden feathers stretched from around his forehead and followed the direction of his flaming hair. His nails had transformed into sharp talons, and he flew into the air as flames shot from his feet.

Slowly, Lucy took in what he had said, and felt her body turn ice cold as she turned to face the High Councillor.

Her dark aura seemed to explode, causing everyone present to falter as she glared evilly up at the man before her, before muttering quietly, yet somehow everyone could hear her.

'What did you do... to my MOTHER!?' She ended up screaming, her eyes wide open in soul consuming fury as her magic power surged and flexed, breaking the handcuffs off of her slim wrists, and breaking through the barrier that surrounded her.

Slowly, she stepped forwards, cracking her knuckles loudly as she advanced towards the man her terrifying gaze had locked onto as a target.


	23. Chapter 23

**IMPORTANT NOTICE:** Hey guys! It's nearly over, now it's the time to decide on the pairing! AAAHHHH! I was seriously leaning towards this being a Bixucy, but now I've become ker-fuzzled by my own story and Lalu is tempting me too! SOOO... **POLL TIME**!

I am putting up a poll straight after publishing this chapter, and it shall stay up for **two days or so**, so **VOTE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE**! I NEED YOUR VOTES TO DECIDE! Thank you, and please enjoy the bad-ass Lucy! ;) xx

**SORRY EVERYONE! This was my first poll, so I didn't realise it hadn't shown up on my profile! It's now up, so you can all vote to your hearts content! There are more options than just Laxus and Bickslow, so go have a peek and decide! ;) xx SORRY! I'M SO BAD AT FANFIC! :'(**

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**Lucy's POV**

My judgement was clouded by pure anger.

My Mother was a nice person, and never hurt anyone if she could avoid it, so this guy must have done something really bad to her.

Just the thought of him trying to cause her resting soul pain by locking me away because of a past altercation with her, blinded me to everything that was happening around me.

I felt my magic swell and burst in response to my emotions, and was suddenly walking forwards, cracking my knuckles as I gave the creepy guy a glare to rival that of Mira's and Erza's combined.

I saw him cower before shoving Aramus in front of him.

'Coward! Hiding behind someone else! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?' I screamed, clenching my hands into tight fists as golden light with electric blue energy pulsed around me and reached out to him.

I knew since being on Tenroujima, and absorbing all of that magical energy from the floating blue orb of power, my magic had fused with some of what I'd absorbed. I was stronger than I had been before, and that was shown in how I'd broken out of the magic restricting shackles.

These thoughts were floating through the back of my mind, overshadowed by the instinct to protect my Mother's soul. Although she's dead, I know she still watches over me. I know she still feels pain.

'Why do you want to hurt my Mother?' I asked, my voice lowering to a whisper.

The fight outside the barrier had ended, and my friends were desperately trying to tear through the barrier, only to be beaten back.

'Uh oh... Lushy's mad Natsu... _really_ mad.' I heard Happy's voice through the barrier, and heard Natsu and Gray gulp before stepping away, ceasing their attempts at smashing the barrier.

'Why have you stopped?' I heard Laxus ask, and smiled grimly to myself at Natsu's reply.

'Trust me; we're better off outside right now. Luce is seriously pissed now. Can't you hear how quiet she's gotten?'

The creepy guy in the chair obviously didn't hear or was too dumb to take any notice; or he simply underestimated me.

'I want her to feel the pain I feel; she rejected me! I wanted to be hers, I wanted her to own me, to be my master, but she wouldn't kill the one I was contracted to for me! When I took it into my own hands, making it appear to be an accident while the _king_ was dealing with another issue, she threw me away!' He sneered down at me, not noticing Aramus had stepped away, staring at him in shock as he glared down at me in pure hatred.

'Then, along comes little Lucy; the image of her Mother and preaching the same principles, but little Lucy Heartfilia is stronger, and has nearly all the zodiac keys! Not only that, but she's managed to suck up to the king, just like her leech of a Mother!' As he said that, my entire body went still, and my magical energy was drawn back inside me.

_'Lucy, I want to teach you a poem; it's a very important poem and you can't forget it, okay?' I saw my five year old self laugh up at my Mother, and nod._

I knew the flashback that ran through my mind wasn't just an ordinary memory. The words my Mother had spoken that day suddenly returned to my mind as I blocked out the creepy guys demented blabbering.

'Stop. You shall not insult my Mother again. You must repent for you actions. Will you admit to your sins before all present, and receive the punishment the council shall give you?' I forced myself to speak through gritted teeth, my voice clear over the silence.

He sneered down at me, his eyes shining with a crazed fervour as he cackled.

'Fine! You want to know who was behind everything? Behind _his majesty's_ little injury?' I froze in shock along with every other council member in the room, and Loke and Nick growled from behind the barrier.

'I organised everything! All to get you to enter the realm so I could punish you! You're just like her! You could never hurt a spirit, including me! I shall hurt you Layla!' He began to laugh manically, his vile and evil tones echoing in the air.

'No... how could you hurt the King?' Aramus stood beside him and began to back away in shock, staring at the man he'd served without question.

'He was in the way; I shall have all power! I shall run the realm and I shall punish those who deserve it!' He began to rant crazily, his voice cracking and breaking into a high pitched squeal of laughter.

'Eugh, you're so creepy.' I muttered, glaring at him as I took a deep breath and opened my eyes, releasing my magical energy around me, creating a ball of light as I recalled the words my mother had taught me long ago.

**Laxus's POV**

I rested against the barrier, unable to break through it, and watched as blondie was encased in an orb of pure magic energy.

I heard the white robed men whose faces were covered by a flimsy bit of cloth gasp in shock.

'She's doing that spell?'

'How does she know it?'

'That's impossible!'

I turned to watch her as she focused on her breathing and gathering the energy in the air around her.

The crazed High Councillor was cackling still like an idiot.

He'd underestimated her. I knew she would hurt this guy, for all the pain he'd caused her spirits, the Spirit King, and all of the things he'd said about her Mother.

I know blondie coped with a lot, and had the patience of a saint, but there were three things that made her snap almost immediately, and this guy had done all three.

'Where is this power coming from?' Erza whispered, staring at her friend with awe written across her face.

'You might not have realised since holding open celestial gates requires so much energy, but Lucy-sama's true power is revealed when she casts celestial spells; though even this amount of magical pressure is above what I'd calculated for her to have.' Freed answered, staring at Lucy and eating up all the knowledge he could from watching her.

I ignored them, and carried on watching blondie as suddenly Loke and Nick disappeared, only to reappear inside the barrier, along with all of her other spirits, who stood behind her glaring up at the High Councillor who'd finally taken notice of what was going on.

'I ask you once again. This is your final chance. Take the punishment the rest of the council shall decide on for you, or I shall release this spell.' The stupid man grinned and laughed once more.

'You're bluffing! Layla couldn't hurt me and neither can you! Your own morals stand in your path!' He sneered down at blondie, who's dark aura had returned as she glared up at him. Her glare was now combined with the glares of all of her spirits, including the mermaid woman who looked as though she wanted to strangle the guy with her bare hands, and the pink haired one... Virgo. She looked half insane as she grinned darkly up at the guy.

'Punishment Hime-sama?' She whispered, almost desperately, and grinned as blondie nodded.

'You are wrong on two counts, High Councillor.' Blondie whispered, her hands coming together in front of her and joining together as though she were in prayer.

'One; My morals come secondary to the happiness and wellbeing of my friends in this realm.' I smiled as I felt the magical pressure around us increase tenfold, making the others gasp in surprise, but me and Bix exchanged grins. We knew she was strong.

'Two; I can hurt you, for you have threatened not only me and my Mothers rest, but also my family and their happiness. That is unforgivable.'

The man's eyes widened and his face went red with anger as he jumped down and lunged towards her, only to be repelled and held down by the magic that surrounded her and her spirits.

Suddenly, she began to speak, her words echoing with power and intent:

_"Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens,_

_All the stars, far and wide,_

_Show us thy malevolent Justice,_

_Search for the evil within hearts,_

_Purge the darkness,_

_With the light of thy brilliance,_

_Oh Polaris,_

_I am the Key between Worlds,_

_Open thy all-knowing eyes,_

_And allow judgement to befall the wicked!_

_Cleanse their hearts of sin!_

_Condemn!_

**_Justice of the Heavens!_**_"_

A golden magic circle filled the room, and white light shot into the air in a pillar of brightness, breaking through the ceiling and sending debris everywhere.

The light reached high up into the darkness above us, but quickly began to recede as if it was being pushed back by something.

The High Councillor fell on his butt as he stared up in fear and shock. He tried to scramble away as the bright white light sank lower and lower, before it touched down on the ground in front of blondie.

A giant woman stood before her, with long pure white hair and pale almost translucent skin. She wore a black gown that hung off of one shoulder and spread out across her body, before it broke off into tattered tendrils just below her knees. The material hovered slightly and her eyes were closed peacefully, as though she was asleep.

We stared on in shock as the woman slowly reached out an arm to her side, and a blood red scythe appeared with a flash of light.

The councillor screamed from the ground, cursing and swearing, screaming at blondie as one of the giant woman's eyes slowly opened.

It had a golden iris, and it looked at the man for a few moments, before shutting, and her other eye opened up. This eye was pitch black, and had a blood red iris that looked like that of a hawk.

Silently, she raised the scythe above her head, gripping it in both hands as she brought it down on the screaming man, slicing straight through his neck.

However, there was no blood. The man's screams stopped, and he fell forwards, trembling on the ground.

The giant woman's golden eye opened once more as her red eye closed, and she stared down at the quivering man, before turning and kneeling to blondie, placing one hand over her chest before she shot into the sky.

Blondie's spirits stepped forwards in front of her like a guard, and grabbed the man under his arms, carrying him away.

The giant magic circle slowly disappeared, and blondie began to fall to the floor before one of her spirits caught her and gently laid her down with her head resting on their lap as Nick rushed forwards and checked her over.

'How is she?!' Bix shouted desperately, pressing against the barrier.

'She's alright, just exhausted.' Nick shouted back to us as light began to emit from his hands and spread across her body in a thin blanket. Her body relaxed slightly, and she cracked her eyes open to smile at Nick and her other spirits surrounding her.

Slowly, she shoved Nick's hands away and stood with the help of the pink headed spirit... Virgo I think.

She smiled at them all as she turned to address the remaining council members.

'As you can see gentlemen, your High Councillor has been found to have broken cardinal laws of the spirit realm. I cannot see how this farce of a trial for my supposed crimes can go forth after one of your own representatives admitted before witnesses, his own disregard for the law he's meant to uphold. Therefore, gentlemen, I shall be leaving with my friends and family now. Good day.' She nodded respectfully, before turning to walk towards the barrier, her spirits swarming around her to help her walk steady.

The barrier fell down as she approached, and she collapsed forwards into Natsu's arms, who'd ran to stand before her.

'That was awesome Luce! Fight me when we get home, okay?' She laughed weakly, and grinned at us all.

'Stop pestering Lucy-sama!' Freed shouted, running forwards and shoving Natsu off of her as he caught her in his arms.

'Hey! Luce is my partner, so back off Freed!' Natsu shouted indignantly as his fists flamed.

"Dark Ecriture: Sleep!"

Immediately, Natsu fell to the floor, fast asleep under Freed's magic. I laughed as Happy flew forwards and picked Natsu up while glaring at Freed.

Blondie suddenly burst out laughing, as she smiled tenderly at us all, before she spoke.

'Mina, let's go home.'

**No-one's POV**

Every person in Magnolia knew that Fairy Tail had found their missing celestial mage from the party that lasted an entire week.

In the guild, everyone was partying at her return, music blasting all day and night long, and the guild was open all hours, and other guilds visited to celebrate with them; including Sabretooth, Blue Pegasus, Quatro Cerberus, Lamia Scale and Crime Sorcière (though their visit was kept very quiet under threat from a certain scarlet haired requip mage).

Bacchus and Cana had started a drinking contest, and were the only remaining competitors of the group who'd been dragged into it.

Erza and a member from Crime Sorcière could be seen in a dark corner, where Erza's blushes were hidden in the dim light, and the other members were talking animatedly with the visiting members from Lamia Scale.

Three members of the Trimens tried fawning over Lucy, before they became aware of the deathly glares originating from the Raijinshuu table, and made a tactical retreat to flirt with the other more unavailable mages of Fairy Tail while their leader scented out Erza's parfume, before being seen flying across the guild with a bloody nose and a blissful look on his face.

Lucy sat at her usual place at the bar, smiling and laughing with Mira, Yukino, Lisanna, Juvia and Ever as she drank her signature strawberry milkshake.

Both Master Makarov and Master Mavis stared down at their children, smiling at the sight of their happiness.

'That girl is far more powerful than many realise Makarov.' The small girl said, walking along the banister railing like a gymnast, before floating slightly into the air and peering down at two brawling members of Sabretooth and laughing at their antics.

'I know First. She not only has a strong heart, but strong magic that's constantly underestimated.' Makarov smiled down at the golden haired woman, who was currently laughing at Natsu and Gray, who had begun one of their usual arguments.

'Her magic has changed since being on Tenroujima Makarov. She must be aware of that, and seems to be handling it well enough. She will need to learn how to hold back her magic if she doesn't wish to kill anyone.' Makarov frowned slightly and nodded his agreement, before a sneaky smile lit his face as his eyes flickered to his grandson, who was absorbed in watching the celestial mage, though he tried not to show it.

'I'll have one of the S-class mages train her about her limits and control.' Mavis nodded and laughed, not noticing the look on Makarovs face as he plotted how to get his grandson and Lucy together.

Meanwhile, Lucy was in a conversation with Mira at the bar, and mentioned her desire to train more in hand to hand combat.

Mira smirked, her eyes glinting with the images of black-blue streak haired babies with caramel brown eyes, or golden blonde babies with dark red eyes.

'Don't you worry Lucy, I know just the person to help you train.'

At that precise moment, both Mira and Master Makarov held the same scheming looks across their faces, as they stared at two mages who both sat beside one another at the Raijinshuu table, unaware of their involvement in the matchmaker's plans.


	24. Chapter 24

**IMPORTANT NOTICE AGAIN: **I've updated the poll _again_, due to people requesting for another ending, so please go take another look and vote again if you fancy. :)

Also, will be increasing the relationship between Lucy and both men, and will include my own ideas on their pasts, so prepare the kleenex and chocolates, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Also, the matchmaker wars shall commence between Mira and Master, so look out for the funnys, maybe! ;) xx

As always, thanks a lot for all of your support, this wouldn't be this far along without you all and your opinions shoving me on! Thanks again! xx :)

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**Mira's POV**

I smiled discreetly to myself as I watched the Raijinshuu table carefully. Ever and Freed weren't there, both talking to Lucy animatedly and arguing between themselves as Lucy looked on and laughed at their conversation.

Laxus and Bickslow were both sitting at their usual table, and I could see Bickslow watching her very closely.

My mind was dancing with images of their beautiful babies...

'Laxus! Come to my office!' Master called form the balcony, and I grinned as he finally got up to leave, leaving his empty beer tankard on the table.

I made my way over to their table, and grabbed the beer mug as I smiled down at Bickslow.

'Good to see you back to your usual self Bickslow.' I said, smiling gently and concealing my desperate glee.

He looked at me through his mask and smirked, raising his beer before taking a swig. I sighed animatedly and glanced across to Lucy with a worried look.

'I wish someone would teach her how to fight though, she asked me to find someone to help coach her. I would, but the bar is so busy now, and we're talking about opening it up to the public to help with finances. I would ask Erza, but she's busy with a certain blue headed mage at every spare opportunity... if only someone would just teach her some basic self defence...' Bickslow was pretending to ignore me, but I could tell from his tense body and concentrated look towards Lucy that he hung on my words like a fish on a hook.

_Now to reel him in..._ I sighed again, shrugging my shoulders and smiling at him.

'Ah well. I guess I could ask Natsu, Gray... maybe Hibiki or Loke. They like Lucy enough, and know how to fight. I can book some private sessions in the guild training area for them too; I know Lucy was showing an interest in the new booking system...' I watched him very closely, and didn't miss how he tensed at the mention of the other men's names.

'Lucy would be so grateful for the help. Ah, I can see it now! This will be such a good chance for me to pair her up with someone!' I faked pure excitement and squealed quietly. I saw him frown and glare at some of the men who sat around the guild before coughing and smirking up at me.

'I'll give her some pointers Mira.' I paused and pretended to consider it, frowning slightly.

'Are you sure Bickslow? I wouldn't want to inconvenience you... I'm sure I heard the Trimens were taking a hiatus from jobs... I wouldn't want to take up your time, and with three trainers from such a prestigious team, I'm sure Lucy would improve very quickly-'

'I can handle it Mira. I have savings from jobs with Laxus, so I can take a break to train cosplayer, no problem!' I smiled and nodded at him, thanking him before walking away with Laxus's empty tankard.

Inside my mind though, I was screaming, and couldn't help but grin as I walked back behind the bar.

_Mission Accomplished. Now to bet them alone..._

**Cana's POV**

I looked up when I saw Mira walking towards me, and was about to shout out a hello and another order for beer, when I saw the grin she had plastered across her face.

I froze, and quickly lowered my hand, hunching over the bar as I wearily watched her skip behind the bar.

I shuddered as I recalled the last time she'd had such an expression; it was when she thought she'd found her ultimate pairing. That always ended in a disaster.

I groaned, and motioned for Kinana to come over, and asked her for another three barrels of beer, glancing across at the smirking Mira as she washed and dried a tankard.

'Mavis help whoever she has in her sights!' I thought, before grabbing the first barrel from Kinana and began to down it in one.

I needed to hide from that expression in the sweet floaty bliss of alcohol.

**Master Makarov's POV**

'Laxus! Come to my office!' I shouted from the balcony, and watched as he glanced at Bickslow, draining the last of his beer and walked up the stairs.

I grinned, before bouncing off of the railing and quickly going to sit in my office behind my desk.

I smiled as he entered my office and threw his body into a chair, slumping back and folding his arms, his sound pod at rest around his neck.

I looked at the man before me, and felt pride swelling in my heart. From the small child I'd raised, he'd grown into a fine man with a kind heart, with a few slip ups along the way, he'd become a great man who could be worthy to continue the legacy of Fairy Tail after Gildarts; if that stubborn mage would come and face the responsibility I'd allotted him. After I told him I wanted him to be the next master, he'd promptly ran off on a long S-class mission.

'What's up Gramps?' His voice interrupted my musings, and I snapped back into reality.

I smiled at Laxus slightly before turning serious.

'I'm glad Lucy is back, thank you for your help in that endeavour.' He jerked his head upwards in acknowledgment, and narrowed his eyes.

'That's not all you've got to tell me, is it old man?' I smirked at his suspicious look and chuckled slightly.

'Very observant Laxus.' I said as I sobered up my cheerful demeanour to try to appear the slightest bit serious.

'As you know, Lucy absorbed a lot of magic from Tenroujima. I'll skip the details, but a portion of that magic she absorbed from Tenrou has fused with her own magic, and has become part of her. Obviously, this has made her magic far more powerful than she's used to.' Laxus was now leaning forward and frowning, as he took in my words, before leaning back and smiling.

'So blondie's stronger now huh?' He asked, laughing slightly before cutting himself off as he saw the seriousness on my face.

'Lucy isn't used to the great increase in power this has given her. If she's not careful, she could hurt herself or others around her. We have no idea whether this has given her new abilities, or if it's only strengthened her celestial magic.' I saw him frown and he began to fiddle with the controls of his sound pod beneath his cloak, a sure sign that he was bothered, and thinking. I felt excitement and joy well up in my stomach, but repressed it desperately.

'I'm not sure how we're going to help her. I was thinking of asking Hibiki to come and teach her more about what this could mean for her using his Archive magic, and then asking Natsu or Gray to help her learn how to control her magic properly.' Laxus scoffed and folded his arms across his chest one again, looking at me in disbelief.

_YES!_ I thought as I knew what he was about to say.

'Why involve another guild? We don't want them learning of any new abilities she has till she can control them; and really Gramps? Natsu or Gray teach control? _Natsu_ and the word _control_ don't belong in the same universe, let alone the same sentence. It's the same way for Ice boy; their just as bad as a rampaging Vulcan in a hot springs. I'll teach blondie how to control her damn magic; how you could even think those two would help is beyond me old man. They'd probably make it worse. Are you going senile already Gramps?' He rambled on continuously about how they would lower Lucy's IQ if they spent more time with her than they already did, and about how they were useless where control was concerned. In my head I was whooping and planning the wedding already, seeing my great-grandkids big brown eyes and perfect golden hair, of course, I kept my stoic expression on my face as Laxus kept on bashing Gray and Natsu's abilities.

'Okay Laxus. You do realise that you will have to get to know her if you are to train her. You need to know her magic and how her mood affects her output. Also, I don't want her to know about my worries; you'll need to pass it off as you asking her to train with you.' He nodded before getting up and walking out.

'See ya gramps; I got a blondie to train.' As soon as the door shut, I felt my grin stretch across my face and I leapt up onto my desk, knocking over the mountains of paperwork, but not caring as I threw my fists into the air yelling.

_ YES! Guaranteed beautiful great-grandchildren!_

**Lucy's POV**

I looked around, sensing a pair of eyes digging into me, only to see Mira cleaning up a tankard and smiling kindly at me as she gave me a wave. I grinned at her and waved back, before listening to Freed and Ever argue some more.

_Man, it's so good to be back!_ I thought to myself, smiling as I watched them argue, reminding me a lot of how Natsu and Gray argued all the time, but with less fire, ice and fists.

Suddenly, Bix sat next to me, his babies hovering to touch my shoulder before squealing my name and laughing as Bix lifted his mask from over his eyes to grin at me.

'Hey cosplayer, heard from Mira you want some combat training. Fancy learning some moves from me, eh?' He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, and I glared as I playfully slapped him on the arm.

'What kind of "moves" are we talking about here?' I asked, narrowing my eyes as I tried to hold back my smile at his flirtatious play.

'Well, I know all the basic martial arts, bit of everything really. Considering you're small, could probably teach you some Judo, bit of Karate maybe. Fancy it cosplayer?' I laughed at him as he flexed his muscles. He was wearing a sleeveless top today with his usual armour, and his muscular arms bulged as he tensed. I felt my heart speed up, and started toughing to try and hold back my flush.

_Why are you reacting like this? It's just Bix! Stop it Lucy!_ I ignored the thoughts zooming around my head, and the implications behind them as I smiled up at Bix.

'Hm. Sounds interesting; learning Judo and Karate, not the pervy advances.' I grinned as he winked at me.

'You know you love it cosplayer!' He whispered huskily as he leaned in. I felt my body freeze and my hearts skip a beat, before I narrowed my eyes and shoved him away, unable to hide my blush this time around. He chuckled quietly before walking over to Mira.

'I'll book us a time tomorrow. Be here by 10 tomorrow morning cosplayer, got it?' I nodded and grinned at him as his babies repeated his words around my head.

I watched as Bix talked to Mira, before grinning at her and turning to whistle for his babies, who'd hung around my head, and gave me a wave as he left the guild grinning.

'Lucy-sama, would you like another strawberry milkshake?' Freed asked suddenly, looking at me with pure admiration like he did with Laxus. I held my hands up and shook my head.

'No, no, no, I'm fine Freed! Really! I can get it myself if I want another one.' I smiled shakily as Freed's face dropped before turning stony as Ever laughed at him.

'See? I told you she wouldn't want you grovelling around her like you do Laxus!' Freed glared at her before straightening up and resuming his argument with her. Ever gave him her famous haughty look and sneered as he logically set down every single one of her points, before she finally broke and started a screaming fit.

'I'm the true Fairy of Fairy Tail! How _dare_ you go against _me_!?' I giggled quietly as I slipped away, letting them continue arguing as I took my empty glass over to Mira, who smiled as I approached, ducking a flaming table Natsu had thrown at Gray during one of their usual spats. I saw it smack Erza in the back of the head, and her face smashed into her strawberry cake. For a moment, she was still, before she sat up, cream plastered to her face as she turned with a dark aura to beat up Natsu and Gray.

I laughed as Lisanna scolded Gray and Natsu before Erza could lay her hands on them. Her quick intervention was perfectly timed, and she turned to comfort Erza, offering her another pate of cake she had as backup.

'Hey Mira. Lisanna has a great hold over them three, doesn't she?' I said, grinning as Erza calmed down and took her fresh cake to a corner to eat it without disturbance.

'She sure does.' Mira said, smiling softly at her little sister, before turning to grin at me.

'I told you I'd find you a good trainer, didn't I? Bickslow is seriously great at hand-to-hand combat, despite what Loke said during the Thunder Palace thing, he's really a great fighter. He knew ages ago his magic was mostly long range, and improved on his close combat skills to make up for it.' I smiled at her as she bragged about how good Bix was at fighting, shutting off after the first few minutes of her praise.

_If I didn't know any better I'd say she was trying to set me up with him..._ My thoughts were suddenly interrupted as Laxus shouted out for me.

'Oi, blondie! Tomorrow, 10am, training, here. Don't be later, got it?' Before I could decline, he walked out of the guild and lightning teleported away.

Mira was silent as she stared after him, before glaring for some reason.

'Well, that's going to be awkward.' I muttered, turning to sip on the milkshake Mira had made for me.'

'How dare he just command you like that! I'm going to-' I held up my hand to cut her off and smiled, dispelling her dark, murderous aura that had caused most of the guild members to choke on their drinks or food in fear.

'It's alright Mira. I'll explain it to them both in the morning and I can have two trainers. I'll get stronger quicker this way then.' I grinned as I turned and walked back to my table with Freed and Ever, who had been joined by Lisanna, Gray and Natsu with Happy.

'Lucy-sama! I could have gotten you your drink! There was no need for you to expend your energy on such a menial task!' Freed whined as I sat down between him and Natsu.

'Lucy-_sama?_' Happy scoffed, giggling as Freed glared at him and fingered the hilt of his sword, eyeing up the flying blue cat.

'Luce, I'm huuunnngryyyy, come feed me!' Natsu whined, throwing an arm over my shoulders and groaning in mock hunger.

'Remove your filthy hands from Lucy-sama! She is far too important to bow to your whims!' I laughed as Freed leapt up, glaring at Natsu, who just looked between me and Freed before laughing, and cutting himself off as his stomach grumbled loudly.

He looked at me pleadingly, his large puppy eyes watering slightly.

I groaned, unable to resist that begging look.

'Fine! Anyone else want to come?' I asked, and wasn't too surprised when Freed and Ever stood, along with Gray, Lisanna and Erza, who'd emerged from her corner after finishing her cake.

'I'm going to have to go shopping.' I muttered, walking out of the guild with my troop of guests following me.

_It's going to be far too expensive for me to feed two teams..._ I groaned in my mind, before accepting the inevitable and calculating the money I had in my bank account and how much I would have left after the meal tonight.

**Mira's POV**

I glared as Laxus left, but quickly stopped my evil thoughts when Lucy calmed me down. I watched as she grinned and left with her milkshake to sit at her table.

I frowned, before turning my head to face the balcony above me, sensing Master sitting in his office.

_He seems very happy for some reason... wait! He just spoke to Laxus! He can't be... oooohhh no he doesn't!_

I glared up towards his office, as I realised why Laxus had suddenly asked Lucy to train with him.

_HE'S RUINING MY SHIP!_ I screamed in my head as I felt a glass shatter in my hands.

_ You shall not win this one Master! Bickslow and Lucy are going to have their black-blue streaked haired babies with brown eyes, and I **shall** be their godmother!_


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: **Hello everyone! The courtship shall begin, and the funny's shall commence! ;)

I'd like to say a quick thank you to all my guest reviewers, and send out an apology to IrishMaiden, who wrote out two MASSIVE and really helpful reviews because stupid me forgot to moderate the guest reviews! :(

SO SORRY! :( But I'd like to thank IrishMaiden for her contribution towards my final pairing decision, and I shall ensure to take in all the guests votes and opinions on the final pairing, so this chapter's dedicated to all the guest reviewers, who's reviews I shall be moderating everyday without fail from now on! ;) :) 

Please enjoy! xx

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**Lucy's POV**

I jogged to the guild, ignoring the wolf whistles and cat calls of the few early risers, and the men who were only just going home after a night of drinking.

I was wearing my red short skin tight running shorts, my belt and keys in place, and my black crop top over my sports bra. I shrugged off the insinuating comments, and focused on my rhythm of my breathing being in time with my jogging.

I quickly reached the guild, and smiled at everyone as I entered the guild, though there were very few people. It was early, and I'd arrived before Bix and Laxus so I could meditate with Capricorn before my training. I had the feeling I'd need all the energy I could for whatever my new trainers had in mind.

'Hello Lucy, milkshake before you start?' I smiled and was about to say yes when Capricorn appeared beside me, glaring at me as he folded his arms across his chest.

I felt my shoulders sag as I pouted up at my strict trainer, who seemed to think he'd been promoted to my dietician recently as well, and highly disapproved of my milkshake addiction.

'Please Capricorn? Just one today?' He stared at me before answer.

'Lucy-sama, you requested that I help you train and grow stronger, to do this you must strengthen your body as well. These... _milkshakes_-' I flinched at the tone of voice he'd said it with, and felt my face crease in pain.

'They do not help in your endeavour to achieve maximum strength. They have far too many calories and hold back your muscular development. They could also increase the rate of you putting on weight.' I sunk into depression as he commented on my "weight", looking down at my large chest.

_Damned boobs. Levy and Wendy have it so easy! Back ache, soreness... and the scales of Doom!_

I felt a small hand pat my shoulder and turned to find Mira standing beside me, smiling sympathetically.

'Well, I can do strawberry smoothies, right Capricorn-san? Purely made of a combination of fruits, would that be an acceptable compromise?' I was still down about the idea of my milkshakes being replaced, but as long as I got at least my fix of strawberry's, I'd be fine.

Seriously, I was addicted to them; so juicy and sweet.

I turned to Capricorn and put my hands together, begging him with my eyes.

He sighed before nodding his agreement and I smiled before hugging Mira tightly.

'YAY! Mira I love you!' I cried out, tears showing in my eyes. She laughed before shoving me off.

'Go on, start your training before Bickslow gets here, he'll be impressed. For a moment, I thought Mira looked me up and down with a hungry glint in her eye, but it must have been my imagination, because when I looked again she was smiling amicably at me.

'Laxus is coming too. God knows why though. Anyway, see ya Mira!' I waved at her before skipping away with Capricorn, listening as he highlighted the importance of a calm mind and body during meditation, and giving me a couple of tips before my lessons with Bix. 

**Mira's POV**

'Laxus is coming too. God knows why though. Anyway, see ya Mira!' I waved as Lucy skipped away with her spirit, before turning to give my dirtiest glare up at Master's office.

_How DARE HE?! MY SHIP! MY OTP! HOW DARE HE EVEN TRY TO INTERFERE!?_ I felt my Satan Soul clawing to be released, and gave a final glare towards Master's office, before forcing myself to calm down.

'M-M-Mira-neesan, a-are you okay?' I turned to see Wendy standing beside me, looking absolutely terrified, and smiled softly.

'Of course Wendy-chan, what would make you think otherwise?' I laughed lightly, in my head cursing and screaming at Master.

'Um... n-no reason!' She said, laughing slightly as she walked up to the bar and climbed onto a bar stool, her feet swinging in the air.

I walked behind the bar and grinned darkly to myself, my aura escaping once more as I made up Wendy's orange juice.

'She looks like she's plotting murder!' Charle's voice resounded through the guild, but I didn't hear it.

_If he DARES interfere one more time... _I cackled under my breath, not noticing that all the members of the guild had frozen in fear.

**Master's POV**

I shuddered suddenly, feeling as though my life was in mortal danger before I recognised the origin of that glare.

_Mira's mad... but I'm doing the paperwork now!_ I thought, scowling at the mountain that was twice the size of the usual amount she placed out for me. I sighed and stared up at the pile that was towering above me, feeling my ears tear up slightly as I pouted, before glaring at it and turning to look out of the window.

I smirked as I saw Lucy in the training grounds talking to one of her spirits, Capricorn I believe.

I felt a nosebleed coming on when I realised she was wearing a crop top and exposing her midriff...

_NO! She's the moth of your great-grandchildren... not to mention Laxus would kill me for thoughts like that..._ I scowled as I turned back to the desk, feeling Mira's angry glare again.

_Does she have lacrima cameras in here to know when I don't do my paperwork?_

_Hmmm... going to have to find some new eye-candy now Lucy's off limits..._

**Bickslow's POV**

I strolled into the guild grinning, and nodding as Mira smiled at me, wondering why everyone else was cowering slightly.

'Hey Mira, got any breakfast before cosplayer gets here?' Mira chuckled at my nickname for her.

'Lucy's already on the training grounds meditating.'

"Lucy! Lucy!" My babies screamed out her name before zooming away towards the back of the guild. I laughed as I started to eat the breakfast Mira had placed in front of me.

'They seem to like her.' She said as I focused on scoffing my bacon.

'Yeah, they got closer to her during our mission, and seem to like her a lot.' I said between mouthfuls of food.

'I'll make sure no one disturbs you two.' She seemed to have reverted partway into her Satan Soul form as she glared upstairs towards Master's office. I shuddered, scooping the last mouthful of food in my mouth and pushing the plate forwards.

_Mavis help any who try and get on the training grounds, seems like she's in a baaad mood today. Bet Master's been hiding from his paperwork again in the storeroom and drinking the beer..._

'Anyway, I'm going round to see how Cosplayer's doing. Thanks for the food Mira.' I grinned and stuck my tongue out at her as I walked away. 

**Mira's POV**

_AAHHH! His totems like her! I've never seen them follow anyone else apart from him, not even Laxus, and he worships the guy!? OMG! _

_THE BABIES!_

I fell backwards on the floor at the beautiful babies that floated through my head.

'The babies...' I murmured, my eyes swirly as I registered Cana sit at the bar and look down at me, before getting back up and running out with a bottle of beer.

'The babies...' I whispered, starry eyed as the bouncing babies giggled in my head. 

**Bickslow's POV**

I walked into the training area, and looked on as cosplayer sat on the floor, her legs folded and her hands resting on her knees. Her eyes were closed and she looked like a statue; the only clue she was living being the slight movement of her...

I quickly stopped where my mind was wondering, and refocused my eyes on the surrounding area.

The goat guy was walking around, speaking quietly, and making adjustments to her posture, making her spine sit straight. My babies sat in front of her quietly, watching as she breathed quietly.

Her skin seemed to glow under the early morning light, making it seem as though she were glowing. Her hair seemed to absorb the light into the golden locks, making her shining tresses even brighter in the pony tail she'd pulled it into.

I watched as she took in a deep breath, before releasing it slowly. Golden magic seemed to appear in the air, swirling around her like a giant orb of light with blue sparks appearing for minute seconds before disappearing into the light, and reappearing again, reaching outwards and expanding the reach of her magic.

My babies quickly flew backwards, unsure of how her magical pressure would affect them, and rested around my head as the spirit continued to talk to cosplayer inside the light, smiling down at her and nodding before talking again.

Immediately, the magic snapped into her like an elastic band, making her gasp slightly and stiffen, before she relaxed again and accepted the magic in her body.

I walked forwards as she brought herself out of her trance, and she smiled up at me when she had fully regained herself from her meditation.

'That was pretty cool cosplayer.' I told her, grinning as I scruffed up her hair. "Cool! Cool!"

She scowled at me, reaching up to sort out her hair.

'Eugh! Bix! Now my hair's all messy; and it wasn't that cool. Everyone meditates.' She grinned. It was obvious she had no idea of the magical energy she'd been putting out. I glanced at the spirit, but his eyes were hidden behind those damn sunglasses.

'I shall be leaving you now Lucy-sama. Good luck with your training.' He bowed from the waist, before disappearing after she thanked him.

She turned and smiled up at me, before looking behind me and scowling slightly.

I turned around to see Laxus, wearing his own shorts and plain black sleeveless sports top. He draped his coat over a bench before walking over to us, smirking.

'Hey blondie. Alright Bix? What you doing here?' Cosplayer glared at him, before rolling her eyes.

'Bix already offered to train me before you commanded me to be here.' Laxus frowned, before grinning.

'Well what's he training you in?' Laxus asked, smirking down at cosplayer.

'Hand to hand combat if you must know. How'd you get past Mira? She seemed like she was pissed at something; said she wasn't letting anyone back here.' Laxus shrugged.

'I saw her on the floor with that creepy look in her eyes, and Cana warned me to run before Mira woke up while she legged it out of the guild.' I laughed; Mira's matchmaking was notorious, and when she found a new ship, she just went insane.

'Well blondie, what d'you say to having both of us coach you? I can train you in your magic, Bix can handle combat, and we can both help in the gym.'

Cosplayer smiled up at us, making me feel as though I'd been sucker-punched and I took a deep breath.

_That damned smile again..._

**Laxus's POV**

I knew Bix had had the same reaction as I'd had to her smile; I heard his heart seize and the deep breath he sucked in before grinning back at her.

_Damnit blondie, you could control anyone with that damned smile..._

'I was going to ask if you both wanted to train me, that way I can catch up to you guys!' I blinked in surprise and exchanged looks of disbelief with Bix.

'Catch up? Blondie, do you have any idea how powerful that spell you pulled off in the spirit world was?' She shrugged, smiling as she grabbed Bix's arm and dragged him away slightly.

'Nope. Now come and fight me Bix! What do I have to do? Capricorn said to stand something like this-' I stared on as she started chattering away, still in shock.

I knew she hadn't had an idea of how strong she was, but I hadn't thought she was this... oblivious!

She could give Natsu a run for his money the way she was being so blind in regards to her magical ability.

'Tch. Stupid blonde.' I whispered, smiling slightly before wandering across to the bench I'd dropped my coat on and dropping down on the seat to watch the lesson, pulling my sound pod over my ears, but not playing any music. I just sat, and listened to the sound of Bix talking to blondie, and her laugh. 

**Bickslow's POV**

'Okay, so you're pretty short cosplayer, so most opponents are going to be taller than you. You can use your height to your advantage though, you see, if I run at you and you just crouch, stick you foot forwards and pull on my arm, you've got a throw right there. That's a bit complex for now, so I just want you to try and get used to using my momentum against me, got me cosplayer?' She nodded slowly, smiling slightly as I grinned.

'Right, I'm going to run straight at you, and I want you to dodge to the side and shove me from my back forwards. You do it hard enough, I'll fall over. I won't have the speed to catch up with my body and boom! Face plant. It'll take a bit for you to get your timing right, but you'll get there eventually. Ready?' She nodded again, widening her stance and staring straight into my eyes. I smirked as she never let her eyes leave mine, and looked away, walking casually to her side before jerking my body around and slamming into her, knocking her to the floor beneath me.

I quickly stood up, my body reacting as soon as I touched her. I coughed, and glanced over to Laxus who was scowling, before I spoke to her.

'First mistake; never watch the eyes. Eyes can look anywhere and trick you. Watch the body; muscles tense before movement, then you know when they're going for you.' She nodded as she stood up and rubbed her lower back, not complaining at all as she faced me again.

I prowled around her, smiling as I watched her eyes run up and down my body, analysing my muscles for that small sign that I was about to spring.

_She's a quick learner._ I thought as she quickly dodged my second lunge, but not making contact with my back.

'Good. Now I'm going to be coming at you really quick cosplayer, you ready?' I waggled my eyebrows up and down as I grinned, still prowling around her. She glared at me and gave me the finger before focusing completely on my movements, ignoring the chuckle me and Laxus shared at her gesture.

'Here I come cosplayer.' I whispered, smirking as I threw myself at her. 

**Lucy's POV**

I felt sweat running down my body and was breathing pretty heavily as I dodged and dodged again, Bix was flying at me from every angle immediately after I dsodged, and I had to stay on my toes. I had been knocked down a couple more times, but he hadn't landed on top of me like the first time.

_God, he was so close! Al that muscle just pressing on top of me... WOW! When did I turn into Cana?!_ I was distracted by my minds pervy thoughts, and was knocked over again, but I just lay there, breathing.

'You done already cosplayer?' He stood above me and grinned, his babies hovering around my head nervously.

'Just... five minutes...' I gasped out, my throat dry. We'd been doing this whole using his momentum thing for over an hour, and I still hadn't managed to see his face get smashed into the dirt; the only thing touching the dirt was my ass.

'Whatever cosplayer. Come on, get up. I heard Erza trained you for a while, and I'm not half as bad as her.' I shuddered at the memory. Erza had decided she would teach me more physical combat manoeuvres whenever we'd completed a mission early, and she'd put me through hell.

I groaned and sat up. Bix was right, whatever he dished out, he was a thousand times nicer than Erza was. I felt myself shiver at the memory of all those swords hovering around me, before I shut it away, grimacing as I stood up.

_Come on Lucy, if you can dodge those damned swords of hers, you can sure as hell shove Bix in the back after dodging him!_ I thought to myself, gritting my teeth as the onslaught started once more.

_'Erza! Are you MAD?! I can't dodge all those!' I scurried backwards before I was stopped by a large tree trunk, and I pressed my body against the bark, wincing as swords flew towards me, stopping an inch from my skin._

_'First lesson Lucy, never back yourself into a corner. Stay in the open. I know you can do this.' My eyes widened at her and I trembled in fear as her blades repositioned themselves in the air, quivering with anticipation for my blood._

_I hated her Heaven's Wheel Armour._

_'Lucy, don't use your eyes. Use your other sense; listen for the movement, feel the air shift, prepare your muscles to move and use instinct. Your mind is an incredible thing, and it knows before your eyes when you're in danger and what to do. Trust in your mind, if nothing else.'_

I smiled to myself, before taking a deep breath and shutting my eyes, waiting for Bix to make his next move. 

**Bickslow's POV**

I had been planning on stopping soon, she was exhausted, and still had to go through magic training with Laxus. I was about to call a halt, when I saw her smile and close her eyes, tilting her head slightly to listen to my breathing and movements.

_Oh, she's had a Eureka moment eh?_ I grinned, before creeping behind her. She moved, turning so that she faced me as I prowled, her eyes still shut.

I lunged forwards, and saw a blur of yellow shoot out of the way, before I felt something land against my back.

_Shit!_ I thought, as my upper body was propelled forwards faster than my legs could speed up, and my mouth was suddenly full of grass and dirt.

'YAY! LAXUS DID YOU SEE? DID YOU SEE THAT!?' She cheered behind me, shouting out at Laxus who was laughing his freaking head off.

I sat up, spitting dirt out of my mouth, and feeling my scowl transform into a smirk as I saw her grinning happily, her face lit up and radiant at her accomplishment.

I melted into her eyes, transfixed by the pure joy that danced across her face.

'Oh my Mavis! That felt good!' She laughed, dropping to sit on the floor, her legs and arms trembling slightly from her adrenaline rush.

'WOW! You really _did_ go flying! I thought you were exaggerating!' I chuckled slightly, spitting more dirt from my mouth before replying.

'Nope. It's a simple move, but effective. Didn't feel like you shoved me though.' I mumbled, rubbing the sore spot at the base of my back that was now throbbing slightly.

'Oh, I kicked you. I just moved with the dodge, and it worked out. Are you ok? I know I can dish out some mean kicks sometimes.' Her face was creased with worry, and she crawled over to me, her breasts level with my face before I quickly stood up, turning away to cover my blush.

_Daaamnnnniiiittt!_ I thought in my mind as I waved her concern off.

'Nah I'm good cosplayer. You did well, good improvisation.' I sensed her smile, not even needing to face her to know it was there.

_Now you really are acting creepy Bix. Weirdo. _

'Thanks Bix. This was fun. Same time tomorrow?' She asked, skipping round me so she could look into my eyes.

_There she goes again, tearing off your invisible mask and breaking down the fears you've held on to since you were a kid. Jeez cosplayer, you have no idea what you do to me..._

I reached out and messed her hair again, chuckling slightly, thankful my blush had faded.

'Sure thing cosplayer. Now get ready, Laxus is a nasty coach. He's not going to go easy because I wore you out!' She grimaced, stretching out her achy muscles, thrusting her chest forwards slightly with the stretch. I groaned internally, making sure to look away from _that area._

'Laxus is such a meanie.' She mumbled.

'I heard that blondie!' He called out from the bench, glaring in our direction. She turned and stuck her tongue out at him, and his glare intensified.

'Shit. I forgot he was training me now.' She groaned, knowing he would go harder on her now she'd done that.

'Good luck cosplayer. Well done today.' I mumbled, before quickly walking away.

Being near her sweaty and exposed body was driving me insane. I needed a shower, but now it had to be cold...

'Good luck Laxus.' I whispered as he strolled past me to begin his own form of training.

I quickly walked into the men's changing and shower rooms, and stripped down before jumping under the freezing cold spray, gasping under the icy bite of the water, before relaxing and shutting down my mind to avoid the images a certain busty blonde had shoved there.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: **Hey guys! I'm trying not to rush into the courtship, so it shall be more gradual, and in the next chapter I'm planning to tell you about Bix's childhood, or Laxus's, and will put it up tomorrow if my computer doesn't suddenly spontaneously combust! :) Will be doing a time skip though, there's only so much I can take talking about martial arts training! ;) Enjoy! xx

P.S. Thank you so much! We've reached 300 reviews! I've read every single one, and I really appreciate all of what you've said! I hope you carry on enjoying my fanfic! :) xxx Love you all!

* * *

**Laxus's POV**

I grunted as Bix walked past me, wishing me luck. I knew I was going to need it.

I saw how training her had effected Bix's control, and I knew I wasn't much better when it came to her.

I smirked as she grimaced as I approached; she obviously thought I was a strict trainer.

'Alright blondie. Sit your butt on the floor in that weird meditating pose you do. Got it?' She looked up at me, frowning slightly in curiosity, before doing as I asked, taking a deep calming breath and slowly releasing it.

'Okay. I know you usually shut your eyes when you're meditating, but this time you're going to keep them wide open. Hold out your hands, and picture your magic flowing down and making a tiny, controlled ball of energy. You won't get it for a while, so be prepared for failure.' She nodded at my instructions, before clenching her jaw tightly in concentration to do as I asked.

I walked around her, assessing her posture and the tenseness of her muscles.

'Relax blondie. You meditate a lot right?' She nodded, still focusing on the gap between her hands.

'Well, pretend you're doing that. Go into that mind state, but don't shut out your senses. That makes you vulnerable to attack.' After another ten minutes of watching her sweat and strain, her muscles were tighter than a spring; no matter how many times I told her to relax, she just tensed up all over again.

I placed my hands on her shoulders, and felt her jolt in surprise as I slowly moved my fingers across her shoulder blades.

'I told you already blondie, _relax_.' She let out another breath, allowing her body to release the strain it had accumulated from her anger at not being able to do as I asked.

Slowly, I took my hands off of her, watching closely as she took deep breathes before opening her eyes. She seemed to glare at the space between her hands, and suddenly a blue spark exploded between them, making her hands fly apart and she screamed before falling backwards in shock.

'Laxus! I did it!' She squealed, jumping up and throwing her arms around me, pressing her body against mine. I froze momentarily before laughing slightly, and pulling her off me.

'Kind of. That was far from controlled blondie, that was rampant; no control whatsoever. You need to be able to adjust the power settings on that one blondie, that's the point. You learn to fine tune that control you'll be a pretty decent mage in no time.' She pouted up at me, narrowing her eyes before slumping on the floor again.

'Ok, how do I control it then?' I frowned, looking up at the clear blue sky, trying to find a way to describe it to her. I smirked as I figured out a good way to tell her what to do.

'Right blondie. You're a holder magic user, so you pump your magic down your arm and into your key, right?' She nodded, blinking up at me.

'Ok, do you ever pump every single ounce of magic into one gate opening?' She frowned and shook her head, her long golden hair flicking around and slapping lightly against her red cheeks.

'No, that would be wasteful, besides, it may harm the spirit coming out of the door, or break the door and key itself. It would be like slamming open a cupboard and ending up wrenching the door off in your hands.' I smiled, knowing it would get easier now.

'Right, so you limit the amount of magic flowing into your keys so you don't destroy them, you just use enough to open the gates, correct?' She nodded again.

'The rest of my magic goes towards fuelling my spirits powers and life force on Earthland. The ethernano and magic on Earthland is harmful to my spirits if they're here for too long, my magic helps support them. Laxus, what's this got to do with anything?' She whined, frowning at me again. I rolled my eyes and sat down on the floor in front of her.

'All you have to do to stop your hands from exploding is limit the power going down your arm, like when you're opening a gate. Imagine your magic is like a huge mess of threads, all screwed up in a tight ball. All you have to do is pluck a small couple of threads to use, channel them, and then connect them in the gap between your hands. Simple enough blondie, I thought you were smart!' She scowled at me, considering what I said before nodding.

'I think I can do it...' I shook my head as I stood up and ruffled my hand across her hair, the silky smooth strands coming lose from her pony tail. As the wind blew, the smell of her hair permeated the air.

_Strawberries? She really loves them, huh? _ I smiled as she glared up at me, before reaching back and pulling her hair out of the band, allowing it to fall across her back and shoulders like a curtain of spun gold.

_Damn, why's she so freaking beauty- No! Laxus stop it, focus. You're training her so she doesn't end up hurting herself. That's more important right now. Stop that train of thought right there._

I shook my head, thankful I was stood behind her as she evened out her breathing, her shoulders lifting with each smooth intake of air, before relaxing as she exhaled.

I swear I could feel the air whooshing out of her mouth and caress my face, the smell of her was everywhere. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to not think about how her body moved with each small inhalation.

_Damnit! Okay Laxus, you got this..._ Her eyes opened up and she stared at the gap between her hands, biting her bottom lip between her pearly white teeth...

_Crap! Distraction, distraction... Come on Laxus, you can do this!_ She'd released her lip from her teeth, and I felt myself relax slightly, before her tongue slashed across her dry lips, her eyes not moving from the gap between her hands.

_Shit. _

I somehow managed to hold my groan inside and I quickly walked so I was stood behind her and she wouldn't see my flushed cheeks at her actions.

'Keep at it blondie, I'm getting a drink.' I muttered, quickly walking inside the guild to the men's changing room where I'd left a bottle of water in my locker along with a spare set of clothes.

'How you holding up?' Bix was standing out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist and he used another towel to dry his hair with one hands. His babies floated behind him, dripping with water as they laughed at my grimace.

'Damn woman. She's gotta be doing this on purpose.' I drank down half the bottle of water as Bix grinned at me in sympathy.

'Tell me about it man. Take a good cold shower once you're done; it helps.' He clapped a hand on my shoulder as he walked across to his locker to get dressed.

I grabbed another bottle of water to take out for blondie. She'd been out for hours now, and as far as I'd seen she hadn't had a drink.

**Lucy's POV**

I had heard Laxus say he was leaving, but I didn't acknowledge him. I was absorbed in my task, focusing on the trickle of magic I'd picked out, slowly guiding it down my arms.

It was much easier to channel my magic into my keys, they had a direct link to my magic, so were funnelled straight into the object.

However, there was nothing for my magic to home in on; it was purely my willpower that was guiding it.

I swallowed my spit, my throat parched and my lips dryer than sandpaper. I was really thirsty, and my body was aching from where Bix had managed to tackle me to the ground. The sun beat down on my bare shoulders and legs.

_Great, now I'm going to get burned and have horrid tan lines._

I forced all my thoughts and negative feelings into the back of my mind, focusing on where the threads of my magic where. I gave them a harsher shove, and watched as they easily slid along my forearms, collecting in my palms.

I let out a deep breath as I tried to force the magic to bridge the gap and form a mini ball of energy like Laxus had described for me.

I felt beads of sweat running down the side of my face and neck as the magic refused to exit my body.

I knew my magic flowed into the air around me when I meditated, but when I did that I had no distractions, as Laxus had said I always shut off all my senses and feelings.

Without that detachment, my mind and body were screaming at me for releasing my magic like this; it was unnatural and weird. I gritted my teeth, a drop of sweat beading on my cheekbone as my breath came out in rough gasps.

Finally, the barrier that was stopping my magic from exiting crumbled around the force I pushed it with, and the blue spark flashed, before it steadied slightly, my hands shaking with the effort of holding it there.

I bit my lip had as I tried to force it into the shape I wanted it in, ignoring the sweat dripping from my face.

'Lucy! STOP!' I heard Laxus shout from beside me, and my concentration broke. The spark disappeared and I fell backwards, my limbs like jelly.

Instead of hitting the ground, Laxus caught me tightly in his arms. He glanced down at me, frowning as I smiled up at him.

'I did it!' He shook his head, and pulled a handkerchief out from one of his pockets, before dabbing at the sweat on my forehead before gently dabbing at my lip.

I winced from pain, and realised that it wasn't sweat dripping from my chin, it was blood. I'd bit on my lip too hard and had cut it.

_How did I not notice?_ I thought, forcing myself to sit up. He handed me a water bottle, and I smiled before guzzling all of the contents in record time.

'Listen blondie, never force your body to do something it's telling you that you shouldn't be doing, you got me? As soon as you felt that wall, you shouldn't have pushed through it. I should have said, didn't think you'd get the hang of this that quickly though.' He laughed sharply, running a hand through his blonde spikes as he looked away from me.

I could feel the guilt that resonated from him.

'Hey, it's not your fault. I should have waited for you.' I smiled slightly as he looked back at me, locking his eyes to mine, his stormy grey eyes capturing mine in their emotion filled depths. I could see pain clearly in those metallic orbs, but it was quickly covered up before he turned away, releasing me.

He stood up, pulling me upright with him and I couldn't help but bump against his body, my muscles not responding to my head.

He grabbed my waist to stop me from falling, his large hands easily reaching around to my back, his long fingers pressing against my bare skin.

I flashed him a smile, before stepping back, forcing my body to respond.

'Thanks Laxus, I'm good.' I grinned as I shifted my weight from foot to foot.

'If you say so blondie. Anyway, that's it for today. Go get some rest. Bix will be here at 9 tomorrow morning for your hours training, and I'll be here for 10. So get a good nights sleep.' He said gruffly, refusing to look at me as he walked across to the bench where his cloak rested, grabbing it before practically jogging inside the guild.

I frowned, confused.

_What was that about?_ I shrugged, before gingerly making my way to the guild. I needed a milkshake... oh, wait. Right. My spirit and the barmaid had conspired against me and my supposed waist line that never changed.

I sighed, before I brushed my finger tips against Plue's key, grinning as he popped out of the air in a poof of smoke and gold light.

'Pun, puuunn!' I laughed as he shivered in the bright sun and grinned up at me.

'I guess smoothies will have to do.' I said to him as he trotted forwards ahead of me to open the door.

'Though I think I'll take a nice, hot shower now.' I grimaced as I realised how grimy my skin looked and felt.

'Come on Plue! Shower time!'

'Pun, puuunn!' I laughed and headed for the girls shower room, almost skipping at the thought of a shower, but my body protested at the strain, and I instead hobbled there, groaning as I clutched at my aching back.

**Ever's POV**

I waved Lucy over to sit with me as she emerged from the direction of the shower rooms, clutching her small white dog spirit (that really looked like a mini snowman) to her chest.

She grinned, and immediately walked over to my direction after placing her order to Mira.

'Hey Lucy, how was training with the boys?' I waggled my eyebrows at her.

'I can tell you got hot and dirty out there.' I winked and laughed as she swatted my arm, pouting at me as her face reddened.

'Ever! You've been spending far too much time with Bix and Cana!' I chuckled quietly as I took a sip of my iced water, glancing across towards Elfman, who blushed crimson as he met my gaze. I grinned before turning my attention back to Lucy.

'Ever, I'm really confused.' She groaned, resting her head against the wood after releasing her spirit to sit on the table beside her. The cute little thing reached out and patter her head.

'Punn.' It said, and I wondered how on earth she understood it, before I addressed her problem.

'What's up? You're getting training from two of the strongest men in our guild. There shouldn't be a problem unless you really don't like them... or do you like them _too much_?' I smirked and raised my eyebrows, before her hand pressed over my mouth and she desperately looked around.

'Ssh! You know Mira's been manic these past few days! I hear she's found a new pairing, and I do not want her attention transferred over to me!' I laughed behind her hand as I nodded my understanding. That was the precise reason me and Elfman had been very careful; not even allowing anyone from the guild to see us together.

'Fine. Want to come back to my place to talk?' She nodded, smiling in relief up at me.

'LUSSSHYYYY!' The blue cat suddenly flew into Lucy's chest, snuggling between her breasts. For a moment I thought I saw an evil glint in his eyes, but quickly dismissed it as he looked up at her with watery eyes.

'Natsu's being meeaaannn!' Lucy patted the cats head sympathetically.

'What's he done this time Happy?' She sighed, looking across at Natsu, who was squaring off with Gray.

'Natsu burnt my fish! Now he's going to fight Gray and Erza's away! Lushy, they're going to ruin my fiiissshhhh!' I turned to see a smoking table, and the charred remnants of a fish, along with a plate full of fish that was so far untouched.

Lucy sighed as she stroked Happy's head.

'I'm sorry Happy, I'm too tired to deal with them two right now. Look, there's Lisanna! I hear she scares them just as much as I do!' Happy looked up at her tearfully, before flying across the room to the youngest Strauss sibling.

'Here you go Lucy, strawberry smoothie filled with fruity goodness.' Mira appeared behind her and placed a glass down in front of my friend.

_Hmm... friend. I like that._

'Mira, you are a lifesaver. Though I'd really love a milkshake...' She sighed as she took a sip from her smoothie.

'Ah well. How'd training with Bickslow go then Lucy? He was a perfect gentleman I presume?' Mira looked straight at Lucy, a glint in her eyes.

'Yeah, it was good. I hurt muscles I didn't know I had. Then Laxus goes and exhausts me magically; I feel like I could go to sleep right now.' I watched Mira's face change from her happy smile to an evil glare as she heard Laxus's name, and choked on my water at the look on her face.

_Laxus! What did you do!?_ I thought, desperately trying to imagine what he could have done to make Mira so mad.

'Laxus? I didn't see him arrive this morning.' Lucy shrugged, finishing off her smoothie before grabbing my hand after scooping Plue up with one arm.

'Thanks again Mira, gotta go. Come on Ever.' I looked back as I was dragged off towards Fairy Hills, and saw Mira turn to glare up towards Masters office.

_What's up with her?_ I thought, trying to imagine all the reasons Mira would be angry at Master...

* * *

I guided Lucy to my room, watching her face as she entered my room. She looked over all of my statues, and smiled at the decoration and colour scheme I'd implemented.

'Nice place.' She said, dropping onto the sofa and groaning.

'Okay, what's up Lucy?' I asked, sitting down opposite her as I flicked my hair over my shoulder. She nibbled gently on her lower lip, careful to avoid where she'd cut it.

'Um... Ever, how do you know if...' She squirmed in her seat, hugging Plue tightly to her chest. I leant forward before gasping, my eyes wide.

'Oh my Mavis! You're pregnant aren't you?!'

'NO!' She screamed, tightening her hold on her spirit and making him squeak in protest.

'Then what?' I asked, feeling exasperated suddenly at how awkward she was acting.

'How do you know... if you love someone or not?' Her eyes were tightly shut and she gently hugged Plue to her chest as I laughed lightly.

'Is that all Lucy? Wow, you really are clueless about this kind of stuff, aren't you?' I said, smiling softly as I got up to sit beside her, ready to listen to her worries, and try my best to help.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: **Hey guys! Thanks again for the reviews and encouragement! Sorry for the later update, been a bit of a long day, but here it is! As promised. I will update tomorrow too, maybe once or twice, depending on how many chapters I managed to write and how much time I have.

Either way, please enjoy! :) xx

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**Lucy's POV**

I felt a blush run across my face, and clutched Plue to my chest even tighter, careful not to hurt him.

'I've never_... liked_ a boy, well, _man_ like this... I was never allowed to be with guys, back when I lived at the Konzern... so I never felt anything more than friendship... but now...' I broke off, unable to break through my embarrassment at this subject.

'Hey, it's okay Lucy. I can help you here, so sit back and just answer my questions, okay?' I looked up at Ever, who smiled softly down at me, and nodded.

'Okay.' She said, getting up and walking over to her kitchen area.

'If we're going to do this, we need wine and chocolates. You can stay over tonight, so you can drink as much as you want, okay?' I laughed slightly, relaxing my hold on Plue so he could wander around and explore Ever's room.

Within a minute, Ever had a bottle of red wine and a large box of luxury Belgian chocolates.

'Thanks Ever. I would talk with Erza usually, but she's worse than I am at this if I'm honest.' I laughed quietly as I took a sip from my wine, feeling the tangy burn as it slid down my throat, the pleasant after taste lingering on my tongue.

'I can imagine. She seems nice, now I've got to know her a bit more, but I can tell she needs girlfriends so she can have a break from being strong all the time.' I nodded my agreement and smiled at Ever.

I loved Erza, truly I did. I felt kind of guilty, as I felt like I'd been abandoning her and team Natsu for the Raijinshuu and Laxus, but right now I knew Ever could help me sort out the mess in my head when I thought about two certain men.

'Right, let's focus on you now.' I pulled a face and downed the last of my liquid courage before topping up my glass once more.

I nibbled on my lip nervously as Ever stared into my eyes.

'Okay then, how does it feel when you're with them?' I frowned and sighed into the glass, watching as it fogged up from my breath, before answering after the condensation had faded.

'Well, it's difficult to describe. To start with, I'm just... happier. They both make me laugh, I just feel lighter, ya know? But... when one of them touches me or I brush against them... my chest starts to heart and I start breathing funny. I blush whenever they get close and I pass it off as a laugh, or turn away... they make me nervous.' I admitted, taking another sip from my wine before sighing in embarrassment of what I just said, blood rushing to my face.

'Okay... when did you start noticing all this?' Ever asked, popping a chocolate into her mouth and throwing me one. I grinned after catching it in my mouth and hearing her laugh, before I considered her question.

'Well it's hard to say. Maybe during the mission we went on? I know I started to see different sides to them both, then at the Konzern too. Now every time I'm with them I notice... things...' I cut myself off and turned bright red at my train of thought, gulping down my wine.

'What things?' Ever asked, leaning towards me and smirking with her eyebrows raised.

'Well... how they look... how I want... want to... GYAH!' I squealed in frustration and grabbed the wine bottle to fill another glass.

'Want what, Luu-cy?' Ever giggled, waggling her eyebrows up and down with a dirty grin plastered across her face.

'Eugh! Okay, I want to touch them, their muscles, their faces, their hair... Mavis help me I need them near me all the time.' I hung my head in shame as I stared into the red drink as I swirled it around the glass, the rich aroma permeating the air and making my fuzzy mind even more clouded. Ever giggled and pulled back, finishing off another drink and filling her glass again.

'That's normal Lucy. You're obviously attracted to both of them, so it's normal to want... _more_ than what they're giving you right now, as friends.' I grimaced at her words as I ate another chocolate, the sugary treat calming my nerves.

' Lucy, you have nothing to worry about. They're both good looking guys, and are good guys. A little broken on the inside, but that just makes them who they are. I don't blame you for liking them, you've seen a side they don't often show to many people. If they did show it more, they'd have harems of girls in the palm of their hands. I mean, they have _really_ good bodies, right?' I nodded sadly, pouting down at my wine.

'Uh huh. Now I have to train with them both every morning and they're both there in front of me-' I cut off as I saw Ever's perverted grin, and groaned as I shut my eyes and rested my head on the back of the sofa as she giggled.

'Don't be like that Lucy. It's normal to be attracted to someone with as good a body as both of them have. Bix hides it beneath all them clothes and his stupid armour, and Laxus hides behind his jerk face.' I laughed at her name for Laxus's other personality, louder than I usually would. I frowned and pouted down at the wine in my hand, before Ever asked her next question.

'So... which one are you going for?' I bit my lip, nervous and anxious all of a sudden.

'That's what I want to talk to you about... I like them both the same, I think of them both in the same way. I can't choose.' I looked into her serious face as she contemplated my problem.

'Well, they're both really possessive, so I can't really see a threesome working, then again, they both know how the other feels about you and neither one of them is dead yet, so it could work...' I choked on my wine at her words, flushing redder than Erza's hair as I choked on the alcohol as Ever laughed.

'Well if you can't chose one, why not have both?' She winked as she laughed at my wide eyed expression.

'How would that even work- oh, right.' I mumbled, turning even redder as I slowly sipped on my drink, hunched over and hiding behind my hair.

'Well, if you don't like that idea, though I think it would work out, you need to choose. I can't choose for you, this is something you need to sort out, but they both really like you Lucy. It's clear as day to me, I've known them for years, and never have they acted like they do when around you.' My shoulders slumped even more and I put down my glass before running both shaking hands through my hair.

'I don't know what to do Ever. I don't want to hurt either of them by choosing the other. I care about them too much to do that.' I gripped my hair tightly and pulled slightly, as though the answer would be ripped from the depths of my skull.

'Well, I still support a threesome with all of you... if that helps.' She winked at me, before shoving another glass of wine in my hands.

'Look, you're too drunk to think clearly, and it's too late to think at all. Let's watch a movie before we have a midnight snack and fall asleep like hobos in the middle of the floor after playing strip poker, okay?' I laughed and nodded, smiling at her.

'Alright, but no stripping please.' I said, chuckling as she scowled at me.

'Fine! But I'm picking the movie.' She grinned evilly as she pulled out the one movie I hated with a loathing passion, and she laughed as my eyes widened in horror.

I could already feel my fear clenching in my stomach from the thought of that movie...

I curled up into a ball and called Ever every single name I could think of as the ominous sound of the opening credits for "The Grudge" echoed through the room.

**Natsu's POV**

I smirked as I broke the lock on Lucy's window and hoped into her room, calling out.

'Luce! I'm hungryyy!' Before I noticed she wasn't there. Her scent was only there form this morning, and I noticed her bed was made, and there was no sign of her having come home.

I frowned and dropped down on the bed to sit with my legs crossed, thinking about where she could be.

'Natsu! Where's Lushy? I want a fish!' Happy called out from behind me, before he flew in.

'Oh... she must still be with Evergreen.' Happy said, landing in my lap.

'Huh? Why would Luce be with her?' I asked, frowning in confusion. 'She's supposed to cook for me!' I scowled, crossing my arms and glaring at the floor.

'Lushy's friends with Evergreen and the Raijinshuu now Natsu. Can we go to Lisanna's house? I want fiish!' Happy whined at me, and I perked up slightly. Lisanna was quite a good cook, but Lucy made my food spicy enough for me. I wandered over to her kitchen, pulling some jalapeño chillies from one of her cupboards and grinning at Happy.

'Let's go get Lisanna to cook for us, and then we can come sleep here. Luce's bed is too comfy.' I smirked, having solved the issue, before climbing out the window, careful to shut it behind me, and sauntering along the street with the chillies in my pocket and Happy floating behind me with images of fresh fish floating in his mind.

I frowned slightly at the thought of Lucy getting closer to the Raijinshuu... when a thought crossed my mind, that she might leave team Natsu to be with them.

I shook my head angrily.

_Luce would never do that! She's your partner!_ I frowned as another voice in my head spoke up.

_But you and Gray destroyed her letters... maybe she still hasn't forgiven you. Maybe she preferred working with them when you were with Erza on that mission. Maybe she doesn't want to be with you anymore!_ I growled quietly at the thought, causing Happy to break out of his fish trance for a moment, before he spotted Lisanna's house and flew ahead, shouting out for her.

I forced myself to shoe those thoughts to the back of my mind for now, and ran up to Lisanna.

'Lisanna! I'm hungrryyy!' I said, my stomach growling loudly to reiterate what I'd said, making her laugh as she invited us inside.

_Lucy would never leave me. She's my best friend and partner._

**Lucy's POV**

I groaned as I stumbled into the guild, grunting a hello to everyone before staggering across to the bar. Mira took one look at me, before turning to make up her well known but disgusting hangover cure.

I rested my aching head against the cool wood f the bar, and felt my eyes drift shut as my tiredness caught up with me.

In my drunken state last night with Ever, I'd forgotten I had to get up early to train with Bix and Laxus, and dreaded trying to explain to them why I'd drunk so much last night.

I flushed red as I remembered my conversation with Ever, and thanked Mavis Mira couldn't see my expression.

'Lucy-sama, if I recall, I spoke to you yesterday about your diet. Alcohol is not a good replacement for your milkshakes. Please refrain from consuming enough to put you into this state.' I groaned as I recognised the dulcet tones of my spirit, sounding far too loud in my mind as he stood behind me.

I mumbled incoherently and heard Mira speak to Capricorn as she placed a glass down next to my head.

'Just give her a minute Capricorn; it would be best if you let her drink this before the lecture.' I slowly turned my head to grimace at the sickly green mixture. I slowly sat up, staring into the glass.

_I swear, something just moved in there... _ I thought to myself, gingerly poking at the glass, pushing it away by a millimetre or so.

'Lucy, bite the bullet and drink it.' Mira whispered, pulling my hand out around the glass.

I scrunched up my face as I stared into the concoction, feeling my stomach turn at the thought of drinking it, and my taste buds already were dying off just from _looking_ at it.

I whimpered and looked up at Mira, my eyes wide, begging silently, only to be met with a stern frown.

My shoulders slumped and I fell into depression at the thought of drinking it.

'Gihi! Bunny girl's got a hangover huh? This is a first!' I heard the arrogant bastard sit next to me, and gritted my teeth as I glowered down at the glass, feeling my hand tighten around it, refusing to look at him.

'So, you get lucky last night Bunny Girl?' He whispered in my ear, before sitting back and laughing that irritating, nerve scraping laugh. I felt my anger writhe and burst out as I slowly turned to glare at him.

'I take that as a no! Gihi!' I snapped.

**Bickslow's POV**

I'd just arrived at the guild, and saw cosplayer sitting at the bar, Gajeel beside her and her goat spirit standing behind her.

As I approached grinning, I recognised the aura that surrounded her as Gajeel leaned in to whisper into her ear.

I felt an unnecessary rage build up inside me, and I started forwards as he leant back and laughed.

I was a few metres away when cosplayer turned to look at him as he laughed, her glare icy and cold. The guild shivered as Gajeel carried on laughing.

'Great, now he's gone and done it. Why couldn't he leave her alone?'

'I know. She's easily riled when she's got a hangover.' I smirked slightly.

_So cosplayer got pissed huh? Haven't seen that before..._ I thought as I stepped forwards, ready to pull Gajeel away, when all of a sudden she snapped.

She stood up and launched a fist at his face, cracking it against his jaw and making him fly across the room to hit the wall and fall to the floor unconscious. The guild was silent, and everyone heard her mumble beneath her breath.

'Too. Fucking. Loud.' Before she picked up her chair and sat down. Everyone was silent before they carried on their conversations at a noticeably lower volume. I couldn't help but grin as I walked over to the bar and sat beside her, watching as she quickly threw back her head, pinching her nose as she downed Mira's disgusting hangover remedy.

'Was it worth getting drunk to drink that?' I asked, refusing to whisper, and laughed as she scowled at me. Again, the guild was silent, more than likely thinking I'd get the same treatment as Gajeel.

Hell, _I_ thought I'd get the same treatment.

I watched as she blinked slowly, and her face relaxed as she woke up enough to see it was me. She shrugged and drank the last few sips of Mira's potion, shuddering as it slid down her throat.

I'd had enough of those things to know how grotesque it was.

'Whatever Bix. You ready for me to kick your ass?' She asked, turning to grin at me, more like her usual self. I blinked in surprise, turning slightly to glance at Gajeel's prone form on the floor, and then looked back at cosplayer.

'As if you could cosplayer queen!' I guffawed, loudly, my babies repeating what I said. "Cosplayer! Cosplayer!" They're loud voices echoing around the room.

She laughed, standing to walk out to the training area. I got up and followed her out, looking forward to teaching her how to punch properly. Her spirit and my babies followed behind me, leaving behind the silent guild.

**No-one's POV**

The guild didn't make a sound as the group walked out the back to the training area.

They stared on in amazement, they jaws open in shock.

Wakaba's pipe had fallen from his mouth, and Reedus had dropped his paintbrush in shock. Gajeel groaned from the floor, and Mira could be heard squealing, before she collapsed on the ground, muttering about babies again.

'Did Bickslow just...'

'Yeah, he did...'

'Bickslow calmed Dark Lucy!?'

The guild was silent again as they contemplated how the Seith Mage had managed to prevent Lucy from punching him.

The ones who'd seen her hung-over knew she wouldn't talk to anyone, nor allow anyone to talk to her except her spirits when she was this hung-over.

Natsu still had the small scars on his back where she'd punched him into the same wall Gajeel had now left an imprint of his body on.

Cana walked into the guild at that point, and sat down at the bar, not noticing the silent guild, and was about to open her mouth to order a barrel of beer, when she glanced down to see Mira's shipping face at its extreme. Cana could hear her muttering about the babies, and her face went pale white.

_Oh Mavis, not again!_ Cana slowly got up, before running out of the guild for the second day in a row to escape the notorious matchmaking of their Demon Takeover Mage.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: **OKAY GUYS! I'M SORRY! GRAB THE KLEENEX AND THE HAPPY FOOD AND PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! I FELT JUST AS DEPRESSED WRITING THIS AS YOU WILL READING IT!

FORGIVEEE MEEEEEE! xx

Will update again today, so keep an eye out! If you don't decide to find me and throw me into a pit of acid or lava for being a horrible person and writing such a nasty thing that makes _me_ have the feels, and I'm the one who wrote it! :( :'( xx

* * *

**Bickslow's POV**

'So cosplayer, any particular reason you went and got pissed last night?' I asked as she sat down to meditate with her spirit.

'Not any reason really. I stayed over at Ever's, and we had a girls night.' She grinned at me before sinking into her meditative state. I sat down, watching her as she breathed slowly, centring herself.

_Right. Like I'll believe that._ I thought, narrowing my eyes at her. Ever hated getting drunk, but easily went over the top with alcohol when she was pleased.

_I guess she could have dragged cosplayer into it... but I've never seen her drunk or hung-over. Hmmm... wonder what kind of drunk she is? _I'd been thinking about all the possible types of drunk cosplayer could be, and hadn't noticed she'd cut her meditation short this morning.

'Hey, Bix. You ready?' I snapped out of my day dreaming, and grinned at her, my tongue lolling out of my mouth as I winked.

'Ready when you are cosplayer.' She blushed slightly as she glared at me, making me grin even more as my babies spun around her head laughing.

'Remember what I told you, Lucy-sama. Also, his majesty sends his regards.' The goat spirit bowed low to her, before disappearing back to the spirit world.

'Seems you've got their king wrapped round your little finger cosplayer.' I said, smiling at her as she looked at me confused.

'No, moustache man just likes me cause I stood up to him about his silly law. He likes how I saved Loke, and then didn't try pestering him to give me his key. Apparently, that's a thing some celestial mages do.' She shrugged and fingered the keys at her hip.

'Wouldn't owning his key make you pretty strong though?' I asked. 'I mean, he's the spirit king, and he likes you well enough, so why not?' She frowned and looked up at me.

'Well, it's hard to explain. He's never really given anyone his key, and I don't like to pester an un-contracted spirit about their keys. I feel like it's disrespectful to just ask them. If I want a key, I'll go through the trouble to search for it, and earn it myself. Just meeting the spirit and asking them shows a lack of effort and commitment. At least, that's how I feel anyway.' I nodded my understanding, shrugging my shoulders as she smiled up at me.

'Fair enough cosplayer. Anyway, you ready for your next lesson? I'm going to teach you how to punch properly; you already have pretty good power, considering how far you smacked the metal head into the wall. Betting that hurt though, so listen up.'

**Laxus's POV**

I sauntered into the guild, early for my session with blondie, wanting to see how she'd done with Bix.

As I approached the bar, I saw Mira shoot upright from the floor, blinking rapidly, before her gaze focused on me. I felt a shiver go down my spine at her look, before she smiled kindly at me.

_I swear I just caught her glaring at me..._

'Laxus! Can you help me carry some boxes from the storage room round back?' She asked, smiling sweetly at me as I approached. I grunted and followed her round the back of the bar and into the storage area of the guild.

'I just need you to carry that crate over there.' I frowned at her unusually far too happy go lucky attitude. Sure, Mira was happy all the time, but this seemed too happy, I mean, she just wanted me to lug around a box, right?

'Whatever demon girl.' I muttered, walking forwards to pick up the crate, before everything went dark.

**Mira's POV**

I chuckled under my breath, the frying pan hanging in my hands as I looked down at Laxus's unconscious form.

'I _shall_ have the god children I want!' I muttered, before tying him up with the magic restraining rope I'd found, and locking the store room door, twirling the little silver key on the chain I'd put it on, and hung it around my neck, hiding the key between my breasts.

'Now, time to deal with Master.' I smirked as I wandered to the front of the bar, pouring out a drink of beer for Macau as I plotted away, grinning.

**Lucy's POV**

I lie down on the floor and let out a sigh, sitting upright to stare at Bix who'd sat cross legged beside me.

'Where's Laxus? He's late already.' I moaned, slightly thankful my already aching muscles didn't have to go through his training regime. Even though his lessons were focused on my magic, it really took it out on my body too.

'I dunno cosplayer. He told me he was going to catch the end of our session. Guess he got held up.' He shrugged.

"Held up! Held up!" I laughed as his babies repeated his words as they flew across to me to nuzzle against my face and neck.

I looked over to see Bix staring at me and his babies in shock.

'What?' I asked, smiling as his babies flew back towards him to snuggle up to him too.

'They've never... done that to anyone before; except me, but only in private. They're very nervous round people, they don't show affection much.' I smiled softly a his confused expression.

'I guess they're used to me then.' I laughed softly, chewing slightly on my lip.

_What does that mean then? Does Bix like me? Is that why his totem spirits are acting like this?_

'Probably. Still, they don't do it with any of the Raijinshuu and they've been with them for years.' He frowned, his face suddenly darker.

'Hey, Bix. You okay?' I asked quietly, shuffling closer and placing a hand on his arm lightly. He flinched slightly, making me draw back again.

'Sorry Lucy. Just... lost in thought.' He muttered, sounding really serious all of a sudden; even his babies had quieted and hovered close to him, nudging him every so often in comfort.

'Want to tell me what's got you so down like this?' I asked, smiling at him.

H blinked, his piercing dark red eyes filled with sadness.

'I... I don't know.' He looked away, his shoulders slumped slightly. I frowned, worried. I'd never seen him like this; he always put up a perverted front as soon as anyone tried to get close to him. I guess he must have been particularly down today.

'Bix, come on. You can talk to me, and Laxus doesn't seem like he's going to be here any time soon. Want to come back to mine for some breakfast and privacy?' I expected him to make a comment about the privacy thing, but he just looked at me hesitantly, before nodding and getting up.

'Let's go round the back. I don't feel like walking through the guild.' He muttered, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along behind him, his babies trailing after me.

I could tell he was depressed about something all through the lesson; I sometimes looked over to him when he thought I wasn't, and saw him lost in thought, frowning before he quickly recovered and continued teaching me how to kick some ones butt.

_Hope he's okay..._

**Bickslow's POV**

_Damnit. Why'd I agree to this? Stupid Bix, stupid! She doesn't need to know about your past you idiot. Just leave while you can!_ My mind was screaming at me for going with her.

'Bix, tell me right now what's going on.' I looked up to see she'd finished her breakfast too, and was now sitting there with a glare on her face and her arms crossed across her chest.

I ran a hand over my face then through my hair. It felt weird not to wear my mask and head cover all the time, but she seemed to like it when I didn't, and everyone in the guild hadn't commented or looked scared as I'd thought they would.

They just accepted it.

'Nothing's up cosplayer, I'll be off now, Thanks for the food.' I winked and forced my face into a smirk as I stood and tried to walk to the door.

I felt a hand grab my arm and yank me back.

'Don't lie to me Bix.' She whispered from behind me. I froze, feeling her arms reach round to hug me from behind, her small hands crossing around my waist.

I closed my eyes, breathing deeply as I tried to walk away, pulling at her hands, only to feel her arms tighten their hold on me, making me tremble as my heart sped up.

'Please Bix. Talk to me; I hate seeing you like this.' Her words were mumbled into my back as she rested her head against me. I tightened my jaw and released her hands as I swallowed to try and wet my dry throat, nerves knotting my stomach and tying it up into a big twisted mess.

'Okay.' I whispered hoarsely. She tightened her hug before releasing my waist, grabbing my hand and pulling me to sit down on her sofa beside her. I refused to look at her and took a deep breath, trying to prepare for what I had to tell her, and for how she'd hate me once I'd done.

_Please, forgive me..._ I thought, as I began to tell her the story of my past.

* * *

I was born in a little town far away from Fiore, and everyone in that town was magic-less, including my parents. It was a mining town, so as soon as I was 6, I had to go work in the mines with my Father and two older brothers, us kids could get into the smaller spaces and pull out the purer coal.

Nobody wanted to send the children down the mines, there were so many accidents... life expectancy of the town had dropped drastically, but the town was in control of a dark guild. They were a branch from a larger alliance of dark guilds, and were sending the profits from the mining off, as well as controlling the town with fear.

One of them was a particularly harsh mage. My older brother, Jasper, had tripped over when carrying a large bucket of coal, got some dust on the man stupid shoe.

He grabbed him and pulled him in front of the whole town, and used his light magic to make his skin burn and peel back so he was down to the last layer of skin, before he threw him in a bath of salt water. Myself and my other brother were held back by our Father as his screams echoed in the valley.

He died the next day. The pain was too much, and the burns were too severe. He was 8.

I hated them even more after that. I wanted to kill them all, especially that guy. I wanted him to suffer just like my brother had. It had taken hours for him to die, and he was screaming all night. I remember sitting beside him, not even able to touch him to offer some form of comfort; it only hurt him even more. He'd stopped crying, his tears hurting his raw skin; he couldn't even express his pain. We sat beside him, watching helplessly as he screamed out his agony. His shouts are still etched into my mind; when I close my eyes I can sometimes hear him, his pain, his fear. We were relieved when he finally died; we were happy he'd finally stopped feeling.

My mother died not long after from the coal dust she'd inhaled over the years and from the grief of watching Jasper die. My little sister died inside of her, unborn. I remember how the mages came and dragged her corpse away from us, ignoring as we called out for them to stop. They just threw her into a mass grave of rotting bodies, my brothers body was somewhere in there too. They just threw a torch in there and burned them. We hadn't realised they'd thrown the sick in there too, and I listened as their screams filled the air along with the cries and howls of pain from their relatives who stood like we were, at the top of the grave, watching helplessly as they were burned from existence.

My Father changed after that. He withdrew into himself; he didn't speak, he only worked feverishly down in the mines. My older brother Kain and I had to fend for ourselves, scavenging for food where we could and avoiding angering the mages.

One day when I was 9, I was ill with a fever and couldn't work. Kain stayed with me, and our Father went to work. At around mid-day, there was a huge explosion. I remember how we both ran out of our hut to see black coal dust flying out of the entrance of the mine, and men staggering out, blood running from their ears and cuts and scrapes covering their bodies.

The dark mages who'd been stationed to help were shoving them back inside, telling them to put out the fire, and whipping them when they fell to the floor unconscious.

By the evening, we'd found what was left of our Father. He'd tried to destroy the mines, hoping the dark guild would leave when they could see no profit in the town. He'd made up a type of explosive, and hid himself deep in the mine to explode it. The only way we could identify it was him was from the wedding ring on his hand; it had our mothers name engraved into the gold.

Instead of moving away, the dark guild just increased the guard on us all, restricted us even more, and took more of the profit. We were starving, over worked and there were fewer and fewer people alive.

I was filled with hatred. I didn't even care if I died, as long as they did too.

It was only a few months after my Father's death that the dark guild decided we were of no more use to them. They gathered up all the children, myself and my brother included, penning us away from all the adults. They got everyone to watch as they grabbed my brother and dragged him away in front of everyone, on a stage before the remaining survivors of the town, people who'd watched us grow and had protected us as much as possible from them.

We screamed for one another, and I tried to get to him, but they shoved me back, laughing as their leader tortured him as though it were some form of entertainment. We were held back by rune barriers, and I could only watch as he scalped my brother alive, his hands and feet bound as he cried out, begging for him to kill him.

I screamed and felt my eyes burning as I watched him dying in front of me. Next thing I knew, my Figure Eyes had manifested, and I was controlling the wizards. I made them kill one another, completely detached from my mind, my rage and hate controlling me.

I forced that mage who had killed both my brothers to kneel before me as I took his knife, and slowly sliced away his skin, laughing as he screamed out his own torment; I revelled in how he felt the same pain he'd made my brothers suffer through before I allowed him to bleed to death at my feet, watching as his disgusting life force soaked into the ground and into my shoes.

When I came out of it, the entire village had run away, terrified of my power more than the mages of the dark guilds who'd controlled and tortured them for years.

I remember kneeling beside my brother, who was only just alive, and I saw his soul floating above his body, pure blue. I reached out and took it in my bloodied hands, feeling the warmth it had.

I released him, and watched as he floated towards our home. There, I found the souls of my brother, Mother, Father and sister. They flew to me, and I felt them brush against my tears.

Somehow, I bound their souls to me, and placed them in the wooden dolls my Father had carved years ago and hidden when the dark guild appeared.

They don't remember who they were, but they know how they died, and who did it, and they knew that they loved me.

I wandered around for another year by myself, hiding from people and when I had to go through towns, I made sure my face was covered. When my Figure Eyes manifested, my tattoo appeared on my face as well.

I was 11 when I met Laxus. He recognised me as a mage, and wasn't scared of my face or eyes. I had pretty bad control over them, and if I got angry they would flare up without my knowledge and I ended up controlling people without meaning to. Laxus just ignored me and dragged me to Fiore, then to Fairy Tail. After that, there's not much more to tell. Laxus knows of my past, but no-one else does. It's worse on days like today. It would have been Jasper's birthday today, had he lived.

* * *

I waited for her to judge me, for the blood that covered my hands, for the murder I'd committed against those mages. I knew Fairy Tail had a rule about killing, and everyone had adhered to that rule, but I'd broken it long before. I was tainted, and now she knew.

The one person I never wanted to know, and I'd told her.

_She's going to scream at me, tell me to leave. She'll hate me now, because I'm a murderer. She could never love someone like me._

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see her hate directed towards me, and not knowing how my Figure Eyes would react when she tried to throw me out.

I waited, for her to hit me, for her to hate me; but I heard nothing. I listened harder, and heard her sniffing.

I opened my eyes, and looked at her, cautiously, wondering if she was tricking me, only to see tears streaming down her face.

'Bickslow... I'm _so sorry_.' She whispered, throwing herself forwards so she rested against my chest, and she hugged me tightly as her body wracked with sobs.

'You don't... you don't hate me?' I whispered, still in shock at her reaction. She shook her head against my chest, clinging onto me as though I were her lifeline.

'How could I hate you? You did what a scared child would have done. There's nothing for you to feel ashamed of. They deserved everything you gave them and more for what they did.' I sucked in a jagged breath and shut my eyes, trying to hold back my own tears as I laughed lightly to myself.

_How could you think she'd hate you? She's incapable of hating someone; she's far too forgiving._ I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly as my own tears escaped their prison.

'_Thank you_.' I whispered, clinging onto her as I let go of the burden I'd carried since I was a boy.


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: **Okay, this is a funny chapter! ;) To make up for the nasty one that made me want to cry like a baby. Also, sorry it's so late, my sister was showing me a really funny film and distracted me from my writing! :( It won't happen again, I promise!

**Laxus:** Whatever Niko. You lazy ass writer, probably didn't want to write more. How come I'm not in this chapter bitch?

**Niko:** *death glares*

**Laxus:** You think you can scare me?

**Niko:** *glare intensifies*

**Laxus:** W-What the hell? Q-quit it you social introvert!

**Niko: **Just remember, Laxus. I decide who you end up with... maybe a relationship with _Natsu_ is on the cards if you continue.

**Laxus:** *blood disappears from face* You wouldn't.

**Niko:** Wouldn't I? *grins evilly*

**Natsu:** NOOOOOOOOO! WHY MEEEE?! LAXUS SAY SORRY! FIGHT ME!

**Lucy: **Shut up! All of you! They want to read the story already, so quit fighting. *intense death glare meets silence* Thank you. Please enjoy the story, and Niko would like to remind everyone she doesn't own Fairy Tail, or else it would be more wackier than it already is, somehow. Oh, and please enjoy and leave a nice comment, because it makes her smile like a goofball and Mira and Master want more blackmail photos.

**Niko:** LUCY! NOOOOOOOoooooooo!

(Not usually my thing, but thought you might enjoy the humour, plus it hopefully makes up for the late update! sorry again!)

* * *

**Master's POV**

I reached up to the tall stack, and carefully placed the last piece of completed paperwork on top. It towered above me, and I'd piled two tables and a chair on top of one another to reach the top.

I heard a knock on the door, and grinned as I called for them to come in.

'Hello Mira. Look! It's finished!' I cried out, grinning widely as tears leaked out of my eyes. She smiled at me as she skipped forward, sitting herself down in the chair as she smirked at me. I narrowed my eyes, wondering what my meddlesome matchmaker child had done.

'That's wonderful Master. Well, Laxus can help you from now on, he won't need to help Lucy anymore.' She giggled and winked at me, sitting back smugly.

I felt my face grow pale and serious as I took in what she'd said.

'What? Mira, where's Laxus? Where's Lucy?' She hadn't noticed my serious expression, as she grinned happily, her eyes shut gently as she pictured something in her mind.

'Oh, Lucy's at her house with Bickslow. Laxus is in the storeroom still.' She stifled her giggle, and I knew then what she'd done.

Mira was usually a very considerate and smart woman, who was always ready to understand my actions, however she had seriously misjudged most of what I'd been trying to do by having Laxus train with Lucy. When Mira found her ultimate ship, she turned into a mad woman, obsessing over them being together by any means possible. She was desperate to be a godmother.

Cana had been the brunt of her ultimate shipping when she and Bacchus had been caught drinking together by Mira in one of the back rooms.

It hadn't gone well.

_No wonder I haven't seen Cana lately... _ I thought as I sat down, staring at Mira, waiting for her to calm down.

'Mira, what did you do?' I sighed sadly, waiting for the inevitable.

'Oh, Bickslow was training Lucy first, then Laxus comes along and **demands** she train with him, so I had Laxus... _stay out of it_ today, so Bickslow and Lucy have their private time. You _won't_ interrupt with my ship, Master. I _shall_ have god-babies with brown eyes and black-blue hair. Wouldn't they be beautiful?' She stared into the distance, ending her threatening sentence with a dreamy sigh, imagining the babies Bickslow and Lucy could have.

I frowned, not having noticed the affection the two shared, yet now it was clear to me, however, that same affection was found between Laxus and Lucy too.

'Mira, I asked Laxus to train Lucy. She needs his training if she wants to control her magic from now onwards. I only hope she hasn't had any adverse effects from not having her session with him today.' I watched as her face went from that of smug pleasure to one of shock and confusion.

'What?' She squeaked out, blinking rapidly to hold back her tears. She was returning to normal Mira now, having realised how important Lucy's training with Laxus was.

'Master, what do you mean? Is Lucy okay? Please tell me! Oh Mavis what have I done!?' She was hyperventilating and shaking as she sobbed. I quickly walked around my desk and patted her shoulder, smiling sadly as she flung her arms around my neck and sobbed onto my shoulder.

'Mira, you are a wonderful woman, and I understand your desire to see everyone happily paired off, but this is too much.' She nodded and sniffed, slowly stopping her tears, before she pulled away.

'Okay, where did you hide Laxus?' She giggled slightly.

'I smacked him with a frying pan and tied him up in the storeroom.' My eyes widened slightly before I my laughter burst out.

'We'd better go get him, he won't be pleased.' I chuckled, imagining how mad he would be at being defeated by a cooking implement.

'I also took pictures Master, good blackmail material?' She asked, showing me the print outs of my grandson tied and gagged on the floor, a red welt forming on the back of his head. I smirked as I gave her a thumbs up.

Sometimes, Mira and I were so in sync with our devious minds.

However...

_You won't win this ship, my dear brat...I want my beautiful grandchildren more..._

**Natsu's POV**

'Happy! Let's go see if Lucy's back!'

'AYE!' He shouted after me, following as I jogged along the canal, heading for my partners house with a job clutched in my hands.

**Lucy's POV**

I sniffed, finally having stopped crying.

_Wow, I had no idea Bickslow had such a horrid past... his poor brothers..._ Just the thought was bringing fresh tears to my eyes. I gave him another squeeze before gently pulling away, his hands immediately releasing me, and he looked away, flushed slightly.

I then noticed how I was pretty much lying on top of him, shoving him back into the sofas arms rest. I was almost straddling his lap, and I squeaked in surprise, before scrambling off of him, accidently kneeing him in an unsavoury place...

'Ahh-' He groaned out, his voice slightly high pitched as he keeled forwards, clutching at his umm, little-not-so-little friend I'd just acquainted with my knee.

'Oh my God! Bix I'm SO SORRY! I'll get you some ice or... something.' I felt my face turn bright red as he lay on the floor, groaning as he clutched between his legs in pain. His babies were floating by his head cackling before flying to follow me into the kitchen.

I opened up my freezer and searched through the drawers frantically for the ice.

Just as I gave up and grabbed a pack of peas, I heard a crashing noise from the living room, and Bix's babies flew out urgently, me following not far behind.

My jaw dropped open as I saw Natsu holding Bix upright from his shirt collar as he growled at him, a flaming fist held up.

_Damn! I should have got Freed to leave up the runes!_ I cursed myself in my head, quickly making my way forward.

'What did you do to Lucy?' Natsu growled out at the defenceless man who was obviously still in pain from my embarrassing attempt to get off his lap.

'NATSU! LET HIM GO NOW!' I screamed, storming up to him angrily and grabbing a glass of stale water I'd left on my table this morning when I came back from Ever's place to change, before pouring it over his flaming fist.

'You use your magic in here again I'm going to tell Erza.' I threatened, glaring at him as he dropped Bix back on the floor, his hands held up innocently.

'Okay Luce, sorry. I was worried, and I'm hungry! Oh, I got us a job, can we go? Can we?' I sighed, handing Bix the bag of peas and pointing over to the bathroom. He grunted and limped across to my bathroom. As he shut the door, I sighed and collapsed on the sofa, closing my eyes and massaging my forehead as I felt the onsets of a headache.

I heard sniffing, and opened my eyes to see Natsu leaning in close to me, and sniffing away like a drugs sniffer dog.

'Hey, why do you smell of Bickslow so much? Did you hug him? Luuuce, you're only supposed to hug meeeee!' He whined, pulling on my arms like a kid.

'Natsu, please. I've got a headache.' I said, shaking him off grumpily. He backed off, and I heard him walk behind the sofa to stand behind me. I was about to ask what he was doing, when I felt his warm fingers rub soothing circles on my temples. I sighed in gratitude and shut my eyes, leaning back as I felt my headache fading away.

'Can we go on a job now?' He asked, not able to keep silent for more than a few seconds.

'I can't Natsu, I have training set up with Bix and Laxus for the next week or two. Besides, you've got Lisanna to go on jobs with you. I thought you got along with her fine while I was away.' I told him, turning around to face him and making his soothing fingers leave my skin.

'But Luuuce! You're my partner! Lisanna was helping us look for you, she won't mind!' I sighed, before glaring up at Natsu.

'She will mind Natsu. You'll upset her if you just drop her for me! I've been away for months, so you can't just ignore the team you built with her while I was gone.' I told him as Happy floated into my lap munching on a fish he'd stolen from my fridge. I smiled at him and stroked his head softly.

'But- but... Luuuucyyyyy!' He whined, kneeling down at my feet and whining like a baby.

'I can train you on the job, I'm much more fun than them! Besides, Lisanna will understand, you're my partner and part of team Natsu! I can't give you up that easily. Besides, Erza and Gray will miss you.' He pouted up at me but I sighed heavily.

'Natsu, can we talk about this later? I need to see if Bix is alright, and you need to go, because I have no food. Happy's just eaten the last of it.' Natsu glared at his friend as Happy quickly swallowed the last of the fish.

'Fine. Lucy, don't leave us.' He mumbled as he jumped out the window, Happy following behind him and waving sadly.

_Great, now what do I do?_ I'd pretty much decided I'd leave Team Natsu, I mean, they'd been without me and with Lisanna for months considering I'd been at the spirit world for over a day, so the entire team dynamic would have changed around Lisanna.

I didn't mind, I knew Lisanna had a major crush on Natsu. Admittedly, I'd miss them a lot, but I felt like I would get over it; it's not like I'd stop being friends with them or anything, I'd just be working with the Raijinshuu... if they still wanted me.

Bix might not be so keen now I just kneed his crown jewels pretty damn hard.

I winced as I remembered his face contorted in male pain, and couldn't help but giggle as I remembered the slightly high pitched groan of pain he'd let out.

**Bickslow's POV**

_Fuuuuuuuck!_ I thought as I placed the bag of peas on the painful area, wincing again and groaning.

_Damnit cosplayer. I wouldn't have let you sit on my lap if I knew that would happen._ I grumbled in my head, but I knew it was a lie. Feeling her in my arms, just felt... right. It was nice to have someone who I could hug.

It had been years since I'd just had a hug, no strings attached or no consequences to it, well other than getting nutted apparently.

That's a first.

I grimaced as I pulled the slightly warmed up bag of peas away from my boxers, and dropped them in the bin. Had the feeling she wouldn't want to use them after where they'd been.

I limped out of the bathroom, still feeling a sharp stab of pain from the one area every guy does not want pain to be in.

'Bix, are you ok? I'm really sorry, I panicked and then I accidently... jeez I'm sorry. Oh God I hope this won't affect your ability to have children or anything!' I stared at her open mouthed as she blabbered on and on about my balls. Any other time, I'd probably appreciate it, but not right now.

'Lucy! Calm down. I'm fine.' She stopped talking, and blushed bright red, avoiding looking in my eyes.

'Okay. Sorry.' She whispered, fiddling with her hands nervously as I slowly sat down in a chair and sighed in relief after spreading my legs.

'I'm good cosplayer. By the way, thanks for listening earlier.' I muttered, looking at the wall silently.

'Bix, thanks for telling me that. It must have been hard to remember all of that, and I appreciate that you decided to come to me for help.' I laughed lightly, smiling at her.

'Well you didn't give me much of a choice cosplayer.' She flushed an even darker red as I winked at her, before she wandered over to make her bed. I frowned.

'Hey, I thought you slept at Ever's last night?' She sighed, wiping down the pillows.

'I did. Natsu probably broke in last night and slept here. He does that a lot.' I scowled at the bed, picturing him in it, and then picturing me punching that flame bastard so hard he swallows his own fire.

'Want me to get Freed to write some runes around it?' I asked, testing out how much I could move now by shuffling slightly, and wincing.

'No, I mean, they've all missed me and I don't want to cut myself off from them just after getting back. I may have to go on a job with them just to let them know I'm not going to disappear again anytime soon.' She turned to face me and smiled.

'I have kind of neglected the team since coming back. I mean, during the party we didn't really get to have a good talk, and now I'm training with you and Laxus for most of the day. I don't want to lose my other friends because I found some new ones, you understand?' She asked, sitting herself down in the sofa and curling up into a ball, fiddling with her hair.

I nodded and grinned at her.

'Fine with me cosplayer. You are their team mate still, but know that the Raijinshuu still want you.' She looked up at me with wide surprised eyes.

'Even after I hurt your...' She trailed off and glanced down at my crotch. I smirked and laughed, my babies joining in the laughter.

'Yeah cosplayer, even after that. I can get over a little knee to my man pride, considering it was from such a pretty girl.' I winked, and saw her flush dark red before turning away stammering.

_Hmm... interesting..._

'W-w-well, umm, are you okay to walk? Laxus must be at the guild by now, getting all pissy because I'm not there for training!' She laughed nervously, and jumped up to grab some fresh clothes from her chest of drawers. I eyed up her panty drawer discreetly, but quickly shoved that thought out of my mind.

_Come on Bix, if you want a girl like her, you gotta get your mind out the gutter!_ I smiled as she turned to grin at me.

'I'll be right out.' She said breathlessly, before running into the bathroom and locking the door behind her.

I stared at the door for a moment, before I slowly shifted painfully.

_Damn. Cosplayer sure can knee pretty damn hard... guess I'll be helping her improve that next session..._ I spent the next few minutes imagining all the defence moves I could teach her that incorporated her knee, before she hopped out of the bathroom wearing a sleeveless dark purple t-shirt and short denim shorts, paired up with some converse shoes.

_Oh Mavis help me. Those legs..._

'Come on Bix, let's go. D'you um, need some help with the pain?' I smirked, wondering what she meant.

'Sure thing cosplayer.' I muttered, grinning as I winked, thinking she was kidding.

'Okay then!' I saw her brush her hand over one of her keys, and groaned as I realised what she meant, when she called out that damn spirits name.

"Phoenicis!"


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: **Hey guys! Enjoy! xx

**Laxus:** FINALLY! Jeez, how long does it take you to write now?!

**Niko:** Shut up! I had things to do today!

**Laxus:** *scoffs* Yeah right.

**Niko:** Shut it blondie, or I'll tell Lucy!

**Laxus:** You think I'm scared of her?

**Lucy:** What was that Laxus?

**Laxus:** *pales, sweatdrops*

**Lucy:** I thought not. Hey readers, please enjoy what Niko wrote today! She will update more tomorrow, and will try and upload again tonight, but she's struggling cause she's stupid sometimes. Please forgive her puny tired brain!

**Niko:** *sits in corner depressed and starts growing mushrooms as she chews on scribbled on paper*

* * *

**Bickslow's POV**

I glared at the red headed spirit as he appeared right behind cosplayer, immediately wrapping his arms around her, one at her stomach and one around her shoulders so she was pulled up against his bare chest.

He rested his head on her shoulder and turned his face to whisper into her ear, his eyes not leaving me.

My glare intensified as he tightened his hold on her.

'Stop that Nick.' She said, scowling at him as she pushed him away with a sigh.

'You know you love it, Lu-cy.' He mumbled, rubbing his hands up and down her arms as he smirked when he heard me growl low in my throat.

'Nick, stop being silly. I need you to heal Bix.' I groaned in embarrassment when I saw that spirit grin as he noticed my unwillingness.

'I don't _see_ any injury, Lu-cy.' I felt like the pause he placed in her name was purposeful, to annoy me.

_And it's working..._

'I, umm... I kind of hit him in the... er...' Cosplayer trailed off, her face flushing fifty shades of red as Nick grinned, narrowing his eyes.

'No problem, I can heal his pain. Though I wonder how our dear lion spirit would react were he to hear of this? I can't help but wonder myself what circumstances you were under for him to sustain such an injury.' He turned to glare at me, ensuring she couldn't see he was giving me a look that would place a weaker person in a coffin.

'If you hurt my master in any way, I will cause you unimaginable pain, the likes of which you couldn't imagine.' Cosplayer sputtered at his words, but I nodded my agreement.

'You'd be last on a long list kid; the entire guild would have to get through me first.' He smirked as he moved towards me, and I glared at him as he raised an eyebrow.

'Trust me, I don't want to get any closer to that part of your anatomy; I like women.' He stood beside the chair and placed his hands over my stomach, scowling as he pulsed his healing light into my body. I felt the warmth enter my stomach before it moved down towards the pained area.

I sighed in relief as the agony finally abated, before dissolving into nothingness. Instantly, the spirit was far away from me, embracing cosplayer tightly while giving me an evil look.

'Thanks Nick. Please don't tell Loke.' She muttered, returning the hug. He pulled away from her when I stood up, my babies hovering agitatedly beside me.

'Do you really think I would tell lion boy I had to heal some guys man stick? No thanks!' He laughed as she blushed red again, before disappearing in a flash after dropping a kiss on her forehead as a final jab at my anger.

**Lucy's POV**

I skipped into the guild, cheerfully greeting everyone, only to be floored by a hysteric Mira. I blinked hard as I gasped for breath, having been winded by her ecstatic rugby tackle of a hug.

'LUCYYYY! I missed you! I'm so sorry!' I gently patted her back, trying to sit up and detach her arms from their iron grip around my waist.

'Mira, I only went home to shower and change, what's going on? What are you sorry for?' She pulled away sniffing as she grinned at me, her silver hair slightly out of place from her sprint across the guild to grab me to her.

'Oh nothing! I fell asleep earlier and had a bad dream that something happened to you!' I frowned, not entirely believing her, but accepting her rubbish excuse. Mira never fell asleep at the guild, and she never acted on a dream, she was far too level headed for that.

'Whatever you say Mira. Have you seen Laxus?' Her expression darkened slightly before she smiled her usual beautiful smile. You could see why she used to be one of Sorcerer Weekly's most popular models from just looking at her, but when she smiled, it was as though she upped the ante of her beauty to an angelic level that no one could compete with.

'Come sit at the bar, I'll go get him; he's talking with Master.' I shook my head as I stood up, Bix giving me a hand.

'Oh no, there's no need to disturb them. I'll wait for him to finish; besides, I need to talk with team Natsu.' She smiled and nodded as she skipped over to the bar, her red dress floating behind her.

'I'll be with Ever.' Bix murmured, smiling softly at me before he walked away. I watched his retreating back for a second, before snapping myself out of my trance and made my own way across to my usual table where Natsu, Happy, Gray, Erza and Lisanna sat.

'LUSHYYY!' Happy yelled, throwing himself at me and hugging me tightly with his small paws.

'Hey there Happy, is Natsu feeding you enough fish?' He shook his head looking teary eyed at me as I laughed.

'Well I'm sure Lisanna is making up for him then.' Happy grinned widely before he flew over to sit between the pinkette and the youngest Strauss sibling, reaching for another fish on his plate.

I sat beside Erza smiling warmly at everyone.

'Hey Lucy. Good to see you!' Gray joked, crossing his arms across his bare chest.

'Clothes Gray.' I said, grinning as he looked down and swore before wandering away to search for his shirt.

'Stupid ice-stripper.' I ignored Natsu's murmur as he quickly ate his spicy meat.

'Hello Lucy, how has your training with Bickslow and Laxus progressed? If they have tried to besmirch your honour in any way, I shall seek vengeance for you.' Lisanna and I exchanged glances as we sweat dropped at her words, Natsu completely oblivious as Kinana placed another plate of meat in front of him.

'It's going well thanks Erza, and they've been the perfect gentlemen. Besides, I can probably give them a run for their money with the training they've been giving me.' I smiled as she nodded seriously, before she took another bite of strawberry cake off her fork. I waited till Gray sat hismefl, fully-clothed, beside me before talking.

'Guys, I've been thinking. I mentioned it to Natsu earlier-' I paused as I saw Natsu freeze during his chewing, before he dropped his food and quickly swallowed his food, shaking his head, his eyes wide.

'Yeah, I think it might be best if I stopped being a member of team Natsu.' I closed my eyes as Erza and Gray protested loudly, and Happy started shouting, along with Lisanna adding her voice to the protestations.

Natsu sat there silently. I could feel his eyes on me, and I almost couldn't bring myself to look, but I forced my eyes open and smiled, cutting off their protests.

'Lucy, why?' Erza asked, her voice cracked and her cake shoved away from her. I smiled at her and grabbed one of her hands, squeezing it tightly.

'Erza, for you guys I was away for months, and you've made a new team including Lisanna. I don't want to ruin that.' Erza and Lisanna both shouted out a protest.

'Lucy, I was not ever your replacement if that's what you're thinking! I was helping search for _you,_ as a group! We worked together to find you or something to help you! We all knew you'd come back, and I knew I would go back to work with Elf-niisan and Mira-neesan!' Lisanna stared at me with angry, tear-filled eyes. I smiled softly at her.

'I know that Lisanna, but you've all made a team! I can see how you work with each other, talk to each other. I know you all don't want me to leave, but I'll still come on the odd job with you all. It's not like I'm breaking off our friendship! I love you all, but I won't interfere in the team you've made together.'

'But Lucy, what about your rent?' Erza looked at me desperately, clinging on to my hands tightly.

'I've got training for the next few months, and I have some savings put away which will cover me till my next job. I'll still come on missions with you all if you want me to, but as of today, I'm not a member of the team. Please, don't try and fight me on this.' I mumbled the end of my speech, looking down into my lap as I held onto Erza's hands.

I heard Gray stand up, throwing the chair back and causing several pairs of eyes to look in our direction, before he wordlessly walked out of the guild, small patches of ice appearing on the floor where he stepped.

Even Juvia knew not to follow him in the mood he was in.

I felt tears gather in my eyes at his reaction. I was hoping he would take it better, but I obviously was being too optimistic.

'Luce, I don't get why you want to leave us. To be honest, I'm pretty pissed off. Yeah, for us it might have been months, but for you it was only a day. Does that mean you wanted to leave us _before_ then? Have you really forgiven us for what we did that day?' I stared at Natsu, wide eyed as he searched my face angrily for some form of emotion or reason he felt I wasn't giving him.

'I don't get it Lucy. You're my partner, and our team mate. Don't you think we deserve the truth about why you're leaving us?' My mouth dropped open in shock; Natsu had never been so perceptive before, and I think everyone was just as surprised as I was. I took a shaky breath as he stared at me.

'Natsu... I forgave you ages ago for that, I promise. I needed time to get over losing those letters, which was the main reason I needed a break from you guys. Yes, I did consider leaving team Natsu before the problems in the spirit world arose, but I didn't make a decision until this morning. I love you all, you've become my family, and I hate leaving, but listen to me when I tell you; your team has changed while I've been gone. I know I won't fit back into it, because you've all changed while I was away.' Natsu's eyes narrowed at me and he crossed his arms angrily.

'You're lying. You might have forgiven us, but the rest was _bullshit_.' He stood up and walked out, Happy trailing after him.

'Erza, I-'

'It's alright Lucy. I understand your reasoning, and I agree, the team has changed while you were gone. But I disagree with what you said about not fitting back in. It isn't unheard of for a six man team, and I know that we would all accept you into this "new team" you've imagined.' I closed my eyes as I heard Lisanna move to sit beside me and pull me into a tight hug.

'Lucy, we don't want you to leave.' She whispered beside my ear, her breath rustling my hair slightly.

'Lisanna, I know that, but I can't stay in the team. Besides, I won't be available for jobs for a while, I've got my training with Bix and Laxus. Then after that I've got some stuff I need to sort out.' Lisanna pulled away, staring at me suspiciously.

'What stuff Lucy?' She asked, sounding defensive and curious. I smiled at her.

'It's nothing really, just some things I need to organise from my Father's will. I haven't really had a lot of time to go over it properly what with the GMG and the dragon problem, then all this business with the spirit world. I just haven't got round to going through it.' I grinned, turning so I could see both Erza and Lisanna, and held onto both of their hands.

'I might come back to the team once I've sorted everything out. I can't talk about it for various reasons, just trust me. Please look after those two idiots for me as well.' They both hesitated, exchanging glances before engulfing me in a group hug, tightly clinging onto me as I clung onto them.

'Okay Lucy, but you'd better come on a lot of jobs with us, okay?' Lisanna mumbled, hiccuping as she held back her tears. I nodded wordlessly, not trusting my voice to come out steady.

I could tell that people were staring, but I didn't care.

'Lucy, promise me you'll still be my sister.' Erza whispered, her voice unsure and sounding uncharacteristically frightened.

'Of course I will Erza! As if you could get rid of me that easily!' I grinned as she smiled shyly at me, before she jerked me against her armoured chest for a tight hug that stopped my breathing for a moment.

Lisanna laughed through her tears as I started coughing for air, my face turning purple before Erza released me, apologising over and over again.

'Lucy! I'm so sorry! You can hit me if you want! PLEASE! HIT ME AS HARD AS YOU CAN!' I laughed, feeling as though the awkwardness had finally disappeared and wrapped an arm around both of the necks, pulling them in close.

'Hey, fancy staying over at my place tonight?' I asked, quietly, nervous they'd decline, before my face broke out into a grin as they nodded enthusiastically.

'Is it okay if Ever comes along too, and Cana and Mira? We can have a proper girls night.' I suggested, happy they agreed, before giving them one last hug and wandering away to find the other three women.

Mira and Ever quickly agreed to the night, but I couldn't find Cana anywhere, so made a mental note to call Quatro Cerberus to ask her along; she was probably drinking with Bacchus again.

I sat at the bar chatting to Mira, waiting for Laxus to come down from Master's office, and somewhere along the line got lost in thought.

Natsu had been very perceptive, he'd easily known I was lying, and called me out on it. I didn't want to tell them the truth, about how I could feel the instability of my magic since I came back from Tenrou. I was stronger, definitely, but I hadn't seized full control of it yet.

I knew Master realised, and had asked Laxus to train me so I can gain that control, but till I had power over my magic I was a danger to everyone.

I couldn't risk going on a job till I was certain I wouldn't harm someone I cared about by mistake. I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if that happened.

Summoning Polaris back in the spirit world shouldn't have been possible, but thanks to that my magic had taken a drop, so it was still recovering. If I hadn't cast that spell, I would be shooting magic everywhere, because I could no longer contain it.

_Natsu, trust me. I don't want to hurt you guys... sorry._

**Laxus's POV**

'Damn that Mira.' I mumbled, rubbing the back of my head. Gramps chuckled at my curse, and ignored the glare I shot at him.

'It seems Mira noticed Bickslow's affection for Lucy, and they've become her ultimate ship.' I shuddered, remembering the incidents that occurred when she got it into her head that Bacchus and Cana would make beautiful babies. I have no idea how she worked that one out, I mean the guy was weird, and permanently drunk. How she thought he'd make a good father was beyond me; then again Cana wasn't much better.

'Laxus, I need you to listen.' I glanced at Gramps, still rubbing the sore spot on the back of my head, before noticing how serious Gramps had become.

'You've sensed it, haven't you?' I sighed, nodding slowly.

'Yeah, her magics growing.' Gramps shook his head, his eyes closed and his hands clasped behind his back.

'No, it's returning. That spell you told me about? It's a legendary spell; there are no records in history of it being cast, because it consumes enough magic to kill the user. Besides that, it was outlawed by the spirit king for being too dangerous to use.'

'Wait, you're telling me blondie is just _recovering_ from summoning that giant woman? That _that spell_ is the only reason why her magic has been only _just_ overflowing from her body? That it's going to get _worse?_' He nodded seriously as he paced along his empty desk, the pile of paperwork that he'd managed to complete having been shoved into the corner of the room in a precariously slanting pile.

'Laxus, I believe she knows what's happening, and the danger she presents to everyone. She spoke to me early this morning on Lacrima, and informed me she'd be quitting team Natsu under the excuse that she didn't want to disrupt the new team they've formed with Lisanna. She knows she's a danger right now. I'm sending you with her to go train on Tenrou, where this all started. I want you to train her there, and hopefully the magic she absorbed from the island will be forced back out of her body. Till then, you're to train her till she can control or cope with the amount of magical energy she has; make sure she's strong enough to have no adverse effects should the magic not return.' I stared at Gramps, ignoring the small pain that was still shooting through my skull.

'Jii-jii, if she can't cope with the magic inside her and she doesn't improve; what will happen?' he looked straight into my eyes before closing his own and shaking his head slowly. I took in a breath and held it before releasing it slowly.

'I want to take my team with me. We have a better chance if she's trained in different ways or with someone as a training buddy.' Gramps nodded his agreement before he sat down.

'Laxus, needless to say, this must be kept secret at all costs. Mira only knows Lucy needs more training to stay safe. She could become a target for the wrong people if they were to hear how strong she's become.' I nodded as I stood up, pausing after I grabbed the door handle to exit his office. I stared at the dark wooden grain, not turning to look at Gramps as I spoke.

'If anyone comes after her, I'll kill them.' I muttered darkly. I knew I was serious, and so did he, but he said nothing as I walked out.

I stood at the balcony, scanning the guild till I found that head of golden blonde hair sitting at the bar, hunched over a tall glass of pink smoothie.

I felt my lips twitch into a smile as I muttered to myself.

'Why does she have to cause so much damned trouble?'


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: **Okay, first of all, I'd like to apologise to my regular readers for not updating yesterday; I had a busy day and by the end of it, had no will to live, let alone write. So yeah, sorry!

Secondly, first moan I've EVER posted, so bare with me.

I really appreciate all of the reviews I get, and encourage constructive criticism wherever possible, as this would help me improve myself and my writing. However, when I get comments which are basically complaints about some spelling errors or basic mistakes, which have no positive outlook on the whole thirty odd chapters I've written in how many days, it doesn't feel good.

So I just want to say, if you have an issue with the spelling errors, they're there because I am a rush typer, I think something in my head and type it out as quickly as possible so I don't lose the idea. I do look back after a few paragraphs or pages, but as most of you PROBABLY KNOW word doesn't pick up every error. It's either that, or I publish it straight away so you guys have something to read.

I've had a few stressful days, so I am sorry if the writing is not up to standard. I am by no means victimising my reviewers or whatever, I appreciate being told where I've made major typos, but it really gets me when the comment just says "you made a mistake here" without any reference to the characterisation, plot or story.

Moan over, sorry, bad day! ;)

Hope you all enjoy this CHECKED AND RE-READ AND CORRECTED chapter. :)

* * *

_One Week Later_

**Lucy's POV**

The sleepover with the girls felt like it was ages ago rather than just a week. After that, they all (except for Mira) went on missions, and I stayed behind to train with Laxus and Bix.

They drilled me constantly, and I always fell into bed asleep before I hit the soft, feathery pillows.

I'd spoken to Master, and I knew he wanted me to go back to Tenrou to sort out my magic problem. I understood it was safer there, and was ready to leave straight away, but Master suggested I stay for a while longer before leaving with the Raijinshuu.

His reasoning was that since I'd quit Team Natsu, he didn't want them to feel like I immediately replaced them with the Raijinshuu. I understood, and anxiously waited with my bags packed for the word to go.

Last night, Master had given us the go ahead to leave early this morning, before the guild opened up. I felt slightly guilty as I left the notes for my friends on my desk. It felt like I was saying goodbye all over again, when I swore I wouldn't have to do this.

'Lucy, they're waiting outside.' Loke said, gently pulling my bag out of my hands and placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I turned and smiled at him.

'I know. It feels like we've done this before, ne?' He smiled sadly at me and gripped my hand to pull me out of the apartment.

'I know you don't want to leave like this again Lucy, but you know they'd never let you go otherwise. This is important, and we shall support and help you. After all, it's because of us you're in this situation.' I heard Loke's pain and guilt in his mutterings, and squeezed his hand gently as I quickly locked my door.

They'd get in through the window anyway.

'It's not your fault Loke. I'm fine really. I just need to get stronger.' I grinned up at him before dragging him behind me and out of my apartment building. I'd already spoken to my Landlady, and she agreed to take payments from Master for my apartment till I returned.

I hated having to ask Master to do this, but I didn't have enough money to pay for my apartment seeing as the majority of my rewards went towards repairs for Team Natsu, the orphanages bills, or my basic daily living needs there wasn't usually enough left for rent.

I smiled at the others who stood outside, waiting. Loke pulled me into a tight hug before anyone could say anything, after throwing my bag at Laxus's head.

I felt my lips pull into a smile as he growled at Loke as I returned his hug.

'Be safe Lucy. I'll see you later.' I pulled back and grinned at him.

'See ya Loke.' He smiled as he disappeared, winking at me in his usual show of flirtation.

I rolled my eyes, now finding his flirtatious behaviour more amusing than annoying, especially seeing as he was not half as bad as Nick was. His idea of flirting was getting far too... _handsy_.

I knew he only did it for his own amusement; both Bix and Laxus had glared at him whenever he turned up during training without my call, and I could tell their ire just spurred him on to increase his flirtatious activity when he smirked devilishly.

'You ready blondie?' I nodded smiling at Laxus before turning to give one last look at my apartment.

Mavis had agreed the best thing to do would be to teleport us all there, as she had me.

We knew Natsu would try and sniff me out, and this way there was no trail for him to follow. Also, we could get there quickly and set up camp before beginning my training.

'Are you guys sure you want to come? It might take a while, and I don't want to take you away from your own lives.' I looked around into the eyes of Bix, Ever, Freed and Laxus.

'Lucy, I have to come; I can't leave you with this group of guys all alone! You need a girl for therapy talks.' Ever winked, crossing her slender arms across her chest.

'Lucy-sama, I shall do all I can to help you gain control over your magic.' Freed smiled as he bowed to me.

'As if you could get anywhere without me Cosplayer.' Bix scoffed as his babies nodded their agreement."Cosplayer! Cosplayer!"

'Shut up blondie. We know what we're doing; you ready to leave now?' I laughed and grinned at them all, tears gathering in my eyes at their willingness to help me.

'Thanks guys.' I whispered, stepping into Ever's outstretched arms for a tight hug.

'If you're all ready, I shall now take you to Tenroujima.' Mavis's voice rang out clear in the early morning light, and me and Ever pulled away with a smile as we nodded at the First Master of Fairy Tail.

'Okay, everyone hold hands and close your eyes.'

**Erza's POV**

I smiled contentedly as I lifted another mouthful of cake on my fork, relishing the sweet taste of strawberry as it exploded in my mouth.

I sighed in happiness as I cut another piece of the cake with the fork, lifting it slowly to my watering mouth.

'SHE'S GONE AGAIN!' Natsu's enraged voice echoed in the guild hall as he slammed the doors open. I turned around, agitates at him interrupting my cake time.

'What? Natsu, what are you talking about? It had better be important, seeing as you interrupted the religious journey of this sweet morsel of heaven towards my stomach.' I growled out, glaring at him as he trembled with his emotions.

We'd only returned from our mission last night, and already he was causing a ruckus.

'Lucy. She's gone.' Natsu choked out, holding up a wrinkled piece of paper he'd straightened out after crushing it in his fists.

I dropped my fork and leapt forwards, ripping the paper out of his hands and quickly reading it, before storming up to Master's office, Gray and Natsu right behind me along with Happy and Lisanna who'd all heard Natsu's words.

'Master! Where is Lucy?' I asked after slamming the door open.

I heard him screech as a huge stack of papers fell and exploded in the room, causing filled out paperwork to scatter in the air like large written on pieces of snow.

'My paperwork!' Master shrieked, grabbing his hair and pulling at it as his eyes swam with tears.

'Master! WHERE IS LUCY?' I screamed, my heart aching at Lucy leaving us once again without telling us, only leaving us a letter.

He turned at my shout, and seemed to realise the seriousness in which we were all looked at him with; even Natsu had deemed this to be a matter on which he had to restrain his childish antics.

'Erza, she's gone to train. She's not in any danger, unless you prevent her training. I can't say much more, she asked me not to alarm you.'

'WHAT? WE'RE HER TEAM MATES! WHY DOES SHE ALWAYS DO THIS?' Natsu yelled, his fists catching fire at his agitation and anger at Lucy. I understood his feelings, so didn't restrain him, and ignored the Master's alarmed shouts as Natsu's flames came close to igniting a piece of paper that fluttered too close to him.

I couldn't help but feel betrayed by Lucy's actions. I had believed myself to be a sister to her, one of her best friends, and yet she had left without telling me or explaining anything to any of us. I trusted her more than anyone, but right now I felt as though she didn't care about how her absence would cause us to worry.

'Master, please tell us. Is she alone?' I asked, placing a calming hand on Natsu's shoulders.

Master sat with a sigh, folding his arms as he looked down at the floor.

'She's not alone, Titania.' I turned to see Master Mavis floating behind us, smiling gently at us.

'She is safe, and I shall watch over her constantly as well as update you on her progress, and how long she may take to return. Please, understand that Makarov is only trying to adhere to her feelings and her wish to keep you safe.' I stared into Mavis's green eyes, analysing her words for any falsehood.

I sighed sadly before grabbing Natsu and Gray and forcing them to bow alongside me to Master.

'I apologise for our outburst. Please understand, we're worried about her.' Master looked at us sympathetically and nodded.

'I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but she said she will contact you via lacrima soon.' I smiled slightly before dragging an angry Natsu and Gray out of his office, Lisanna hugging Happy to her chest as she followed us out.

'Does she just not trust us?' Gray whispered, hurt that Lucy once again felt we weren't able to help her. I flinched as he spoke the words that had been floating in my head.

'Don't say that Gray. She must have her reasons for leaving us like this again. You know how painful it was for her to leave us like that last time-'

'ERZA! SHE QUIT THE TEAM AND NOW SHE'S GONE!' He shouted, pulling himself out of my grip as he shouted, tears glistening in his eyes. We now had the guilds attention, but I ignored the curious eyes that looked our way.

'Lucy has her reasons. You might not trust her anymore, but _I _do. When she returns, I shall find out why she had to leave, and shall ensure it _won't happen again_.' I felt my aura grow darker as I glared at Gray, before turning and walking out of the guild to expend some of my anger in vigorous training techniques.

_Lucy... why this time? Why won't you trust me?_

**Laxus's POV**

We set up camp relatively quickly, and immediately began to find sources of food and water. I knew blondies spirit could supply us, but I wanted her to get used to fending for herself without her spirits aid. This way, if there ever was a reason she couldn't use her magic, she would know basic survival techniques.

Despite this, I wanted her to expend her magic as much as possible, and so I had her hold open four golden gate keys and get them to watch our stuff while we searched in teams.

Ever and Blondie went to find two water sources, for bathing and drinking, Bix and Freed were searching for food sources, and I was setting bait traps for some of the smaller animals around the forest.

I returned to camp to find Ever and blondie sitting together chatting and laughing with the spirits. Blondie had called out Loke, the goat, the pink haired masochistic maid and the weird guy with a horse costume on.

_Bix's nickname seems more and more appropriate as I see more of her spirits._ I thought, stalking up to them and grabbing my bag, rummaging around for a snack.

'Hey Laxus! Trapping go alright?' I grunted my acknowledgement of blondies question, before I crammed some small lightning lacrima fragments into my mouth, chewing on the tingly electricity particles before sighing in contentment as I swallowed them down.

'Does Hime-sama require me to find some more tasteful lightning infused treats for her trainer?' The maid girl asked, staring at blondie with a scary intensity. She laughed and shook her head.

'It's alright Virgo, Laxus doesn't want me using you to bring us food and the like.' My mouth watered at the thought of eating better lightning snacks; sure lacrima were alright, but the lightning was usually weeks or months old. Storms were not usually strong enough to harness good lightning in the lacrima, and then it took time for them to be imported and sold.

I faced the spirit and snapped at her.

'Fresh lightning?' She faced me and nodded once. I gritted my teeth before turning to look at blondie, refusing to allow my hunger and need show on my face.

'Treats, now.' I commanded her, glaring as she tried to stifle her giggle, before she nodded at Virgo.

Seconds after the spirit left, she returned with a small bag, and handed it to me before turning to face blondie.

'Punishment Hime-sama?' Blondie shook her head, laughing as I ripped open the bag. I popped a small yellow ball into my mouth and bit down on it, groaning as I relished the fresh zing of lightning that shot through my system.

_Damn, this is some good lightning. She is definitely coming on my team. I need this. Just have to convince her she'll be better off with us rather than the flame prick and ice brains._

'Thanks blondie. This is some good stuff. Think you're spirit could set me up with a regular delivery?' I smirked as she laughed, Ever grinning at me as I relished the flavour of fresh lightning. The only other time I got this kind of food was during a storm, when I lightning teleported into the storm clouds to absorb as much as I could.

'What happened to not using my spirits to provide food, huh?' She asked, eyebrows raised as she smiled smugly at me.

I stared at her blankly, waiting for her to back down as I popped another delicious ball of lightning in my mouth.

'Well if you want more you're going to have to ask Virgo if she wants to bring you more.' She said, before turning to talk to Ever and Loke.

I looked at the spirit in question, and she sent me a blank glare, before turning her back on me and sitting down beside blondie.

I scowled, and decided to save the rest of the treats; never knew when I would get another batch from grumpy maid lady over there.


	32. Chapter 32

**IMPORTANT MESSAGE- READ RIGHT NOW IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!:** Hey everyone (over dramatic there! sorry, in the mood! but seriously, keep reading., important stuff here.)! I felt I should say now, I am going on holiday on Saturday, and won't be able to update for a week, because there is _**NO INTERNET CONNECTION WHERE I'M GOINGGG!**_ :O :( :'(

It depresses me more than you guys, cause I wanted to get this story done before I went on holiday, but that's the way the cookie crumbles!

I've left this at a **_huuuge_** cliff-hanger, but I shall try and be nice and update again before I leave... _or not_. ;) (MWAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!)

Either way, enjoy this short chapter, and I look forward to coming back. Hopefully, I'll find some time to carry on writing on the good old pen and paper while I'm away, so you might find an influx of chapters if I type them up quickly enough! XD May update tomorrow, as a good-bye and to keep you hooked... this cliff hanger shall seem mild to the one I'm planning on leaving you all with tomorrow... I am evil. I know. Love you all! xoxox

* * *

_One Month Later..._

**Master's POV**

I looked down at my children. After I had explained Lucy's absence a month ago for her training, they had accepted her not being here as well as they could. Many shouted out their support for her trying to get stronger, especially Gajeel and Levy, who'd returned from their mission after she'd left.

Team Natsu were taking it as well as they were expected to; Erza wallowed in her cake more than before, Natsu and Gray somehow managed to find more time to fight in the day, Happy ate twice the amount of fish (though how that was possible I have no idea) and Lisanna seemed to double her efforts at being the cheery girl we all know and love as though she was trying to make up for the loss of our blonde celestial mage.

I sighed heavily, looking down at a depressed Mira as she forced her face into a strained smile.

She felt guilty for keeping Laxus from Lucy for that one training session and was upset that Lucy had left without telling her anything. Whether she was sad about not being told how her "private time" had gone with Bickslow, or for just not telling her when she would be leaving, I had no idea.

I hopped off the balcony railing and walked into my office, shutting the door quietly before slumping into my desk chair.

'Hello Third.' A voice giggled from above me. I turned my head to see First hovering above me, a wide smile spread across her face as she floated down to the ground before me.

My face stretched into an involuntary wide grin.

'Hello First. How are our brats holding up?' She laughed lightly, swooping though the air and performing a perfect summersault before floating stationary as though she was sitting on a chair, her legs crossed and her barefooted toes wiggling with excitement as her green eyes sparkled with joy.

'They're ready.'

**No one's POV**

Natsu was holding Gray in a headlock as he brought a flaming elbow down on to the ice mages back, propelling him into the ground. It took Gray a few seconds to get his breath back before he leapt to his feet, ready to use his new Ice Make move he'd been working on. This would be it's first test, and he smirked as he tasted victory.

Suddenly, Natsu's head spun to face the closed guild doors, and he sniffed shortly, before frowning and taking a longer whiff. It was then that Gray launched his attack, not noticing Natsu's distraction.

At that moment, Gajeel's head jerked up, and he paused chewing his metal scraps for a second, before smirking and laughing his signature laugh beneath his breath. Levy glanced up from the book she was reading to give him a questioning look, before shrugging and returning to the magical world of fantasy she had been enraptured with.

Gajeel grinned, taking a slow bite out of his iron as he stared at the guild entrance, waiting for the doors to open.

Wendy, who had been sitting in the infirmary labelling bottles of herbs with Charle sniffed sharply, before dropping the bottle carefully on the desk and running out to lean over the balcony, her excited gaze fixed on the door.

Charle had followed her out of the infirmary, knowing that something was up, but not bothering to waste her precious breath to ask, seeing as she had a pretty good idea. Pantherlily also noticed Gajeel's smirk directed towards the door, and grinned as he crossed his arms.

Slowly, the guild doors began to open, before they were kicked back and smacked against the wall with a resounding and echoing **_BOOM!_**

The noise was loud enough to shock Erza out of her cake fantasies (which included some pretty kinky thoughts about a certain blue-haired male mage) and to make Natsu and Gray freeze during a fight. It was quite comical in how they stood there, Natsu's mouth latched onto Gray's foot while Gray held the dragon slayer in a complex leg lock on the ground.

All eyes were facing the group who stood at the entrance, swathed in black cloaks with large hoods pulled over their heads, hiding their faces in darkness.

Some members glared suspiciously at them; it wasn't often that they got visits with cloaked strangers, and from past experiences, they were not usually nice visits.

Natsu spat out Gray's foot and ignored the strong urge to retch as he took in a deep breath, before frowning as he narrowed his eyes at the people who stood at the entrance, assessing the guild.

Before anyone could say anything a familiar laugh split through the air.

'Well? Aren't you going to say hello to us? We haven't been away long enough for you to _forget_ us, have we?' As the leader of the group spoke, the hood was thrown back, revealing pale hands with a pink guild mark on one of them.

'LUCY!' Everyone called out simultaneously as recognition finally set in when they looked on the face of their grinning celestial mage.

'Fairy Tail! It's time for a PARTYYYY!' Master Makarov had appeared beside Wendy on the balcony, and shouted out with his booming voice as the members cheered, the drinks already appearing due to Mira and Kinana's quick service; Mira somehow managing to hold back her tears of joy.

'Luce!' Natsu shoved past everyone and threw his arms around his partner, pulling her tightly to him and inhaling her familiar scent as he closed his eyes.

'Hey Natsu. Sorry I had to leave again, but I won't do it anymore.' Lucy whispered, encircling him with her own arms and returning his tight embrace.

'You better not! You're going to have to cook me up a feast to make up for this one!' Natsu grinned, pulling himself away from her as she groaned at the thought.

'Natssuuuuuu! I swear you probably eat more than a _real_ dragon.' He grinned at her, before pulling her into another hug before Erza appeared with tears running down her face.

'LUCY! NEVER LEAVE ME AGAIN! I CAN TRAIN YOU! SEE? I CAN HELP! HIT ME IF I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH! PLEAAASEEE!' Lucy smiled as Erza constricted her into her tight and armoured hug, cutting off her oxygen momentarily before she managed to free herself from the scarlet haired mages grasp.

'Erza, I'm fine. We can train together from now on, just don't ask me to hit you ever again, Bix will have more of an excuse to call me a sadist then.' She muttered, glaring at the now revealed figures of the Raijinshuu and Laxus, who smirked at the other guild members that had begun to swarm the blonde woman.

'Lucy, we missed you.' Gray smiled gently as he grabbed Lucy and hugged her against his bare chest.

'LOVE RIVAL'S RETURNED!' A howl was heard echoing through the guild above the chatter of happy members, making Lucy grimace as she shoved Gray off of her, laughing.

'Clothes Gray.' He flushed slightly before grinning at her and walking over to his abandoned shirt and trousers.

'LUSSSHHYYYY!' Lucy laughed as a ball of blue fur crashed into her chest, making her stagger backwards slightly, only to be caught by a familiar set of hands.

She grinned up at Freed in thanks, before addressing the Exceed that sobbed into her chest.

'I missed you too Happy! How about I buy you a massive salmon tomorrow, ne? As big as my arm, how about that?' Happy's eyes were round and his tears had frozen in place as drool leaked out of the corner of his mouth, before he floated away in a daze, muttering about salmon and arms.

Lucy laughed once more before shouting out to the chattering guild.

'I thought we were having a party!' Everyone cheered, their mugs raised high in the air as the celebration truly began, and it lasted all through the night.

The next morning, there would be an entire guild full of hung-over and cramped mages, who had passed out where they stood from inebriation or sheer delight, and the town of Magnolia knew that Fairy Tail had partied harder than they had in a long while from the large order of prawns Mira placed so she could make her miracle hang-over cure.

* * *

**Meanwhile, at Lucy's apartment...**

**Unknown POV**

I sniffed around in the darkness, and smirked as I found the object I had been searching for.

That damned woman took so long at that blasted island, training and complaining; but she had finally lead me back to her home before she returned to her idiotic guild.

Now, I had what I needed.

I reached under the disgustingly pink bed, and grabbed the box hidden beneath it, grinning as I felt the burnt wood beneath my finger tips.

I quickly pulled it out, and broke the weak lock before thrusting my hands into the ashes and pulling a handful up to my face.

I drew in a long, deep breath, relishing the taste.

_Ahh, the flavours! If only they weren't destroyed... imagine the power I could gain! But still... the detail! The vivid memories! The emotions! _

I carefully dropped the ashes back into the box, careful not to spill any as I concealed the scorched container beneath my cloak and snuck out of the apartment.

_You have nowhere to hide now Heartfilia, Fairy Tail. You shall be mine..._


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N:** Okay, so this is the last update till Friday, or Thursday, depending on how tired I am after the journey home. I will try and update as soon as I get back, but it will take time to write stuff up.

You were lucky to get an update today, my computer monitor broke and we had to go and get a new one. :S

Well, enjoy! I'm sorry for another cliff-hanger, but you know you love it really! ;) xx

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

It was gone midnight by the time I' had enough of the party. I'd spent a month with the Raijinshuu, and had become used to the quiet banter, and to deal with a full blown Fairy Tail party, though nice, was slightly over-whelming.

Freed was leaning over the bar talking to Mira, and Ever was pretending not to be flirting with a blushing Elfman, and Bix was busy in a drinking contest with Cana and Bacchus.

I was just about to stand and leave when Laxus collapsed onto the bar stool behind me, his beer hanging weakly from his fingertips.

'Heeyy Blondiieee...' He mumbled, grinning as I frowned at him.

'Laxus, are you drunk?' His face screwed up from my question and he scoffed, before suddenly turning slightly green and nodding slowly, groaning as he rest his head against the wooden bar top.

I sighed, before pulling one of his arms around my neck and jerking him so he was mostly upright.

'Freed, I'm taking Laxus home; he's down for the count.' I called out, smiling as Freed nodded at me with a grin, before returning to talking with Mira. He'd missed her a lot more than he'd expected, and I knew they had a lot of catching up to do.

I said my goodbyes as I dragged a staggering Laxus out of the guild, smiling as I turned down peoples offers of drinks.

The noise quieted slightly as the heavy guild doors shut softly behind me, the music and shouting turning into background noise.

I had no idea where Laxus lived, and shrugged as I started to drag him along the street towards my apartment.

'Blondie, stop moving the world. Why are there two of you?' He stared down at me, his grey eyes unfocused and glazed slightly. I laughed slightly; drunk Laxus was way funnier than sober Laxus.

'Why didn't your maid lady give me more treats?' He mumbled, losing interest in me as he stared down at the cobbled street, frowning as he struggled to place his feet securely on the ground.

'Maybe you should have asked nicely.' I giggled as he tripped over a small cobble before he regained his balance, his weight pulling me halfway down with him.

I squeaked as the floor came closer, but found myself being yanked upwards into a muscular chest and being held in a pair of familiar strong arms. I'd come to recognise every contour of his arms during our training; how his skin stretched across his muscles, how his arms flexed when he clenched his fists to hide his annoyance. It was all familiar to me.

'Careful blondie; floor's hard.' His voice slurred out as he looked down at me, his breath brushing against my face so I got a nice whiff of beer, vodka and some strong red wine.

I smiled as I gently pushed away from him, sliding under his arm and carefully guiding him along the street.

During the month at Tenroujima, I'd become even closer to all of the Raijinshuu, though Laxus tried to stay aloof I now knew him just as well as Natsu or Gray.

'Blondie, you're so short; tiny...' I rolled my eyes as I pulled him up my staircase towards my apartment.

'Yeah, thanks; first it's cause of the hair, now its cause of my height. When are you just going to call me by my name Sparky?' I asked, leaving him leaning against the wall as I fiddled with my keys to unlock my apartment. He chuckled, the sound deep and amused as he turned to stare at me, swaying on his feet slightly.

'Secret.' He told me, grinning as he tapped my nose with one of his long callused fingers.

I rolled my eyes as I dragged him into my apartment, voting to let him take the bed, I gently shoved his hulking, staggering mass onto the downy mattress and comforter; his usual black, fur lined cloak spread out beneath him as he spread his arms out laughing, stretching the material of his black turtle neck.

'Okay, keep your secret, it's time for beddy-byes Sparky.' I bent down and unlaced his shoes, sliding them off his feet before he pulled himself up onto the bed.

'You be sick on my bed, you're buying me a new mattress; and bed set, got it Sparky?' He nodded, his eyes already heavy lidded and half shut. I smiled and went to put his shoes by the door.

By the time I'd come back, he was fast asleep, a light snore emanating from his chest and rumbling around the room.

I smiled as I threw my black cloak onto my armchair before dropping onto the sofa; I had no energy to get changed, and the jeans and crop top I wore were comfy enough.

I shut my eyes, and found myself remembering a time during my training when Laxus had actually opened up to me...

* * *

_Flashback_

'That's good blondie, you had much better control of that one's direction.' I had graduated into forming small balls of magic, and throwing them, controlling them with my mind to hit the centre of a target. I took deep breathes, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart.

Laxus's training always exhausted me magically and physically, so I was always tired after a session.

'Okay blondie, take a break.' He said after I'd missed the target another five or six times. I gratefully slumped onto a fallen tree trunk, taking deep gulps out of my water bottle and watching as Laxus came and sat beside me.

It was late evening, and the sun was setting over the ocean; Bix, Ever and Freed were at camp making dinner while I got in my last session of the day with Laxus.

I smiled as I watched the sky morph and transform into a beautiful range of reds, oranges and yellows as the sun sank into the dark blue waters.

'You're getting better blondie. No one can say you're weak anymore, that's for sure.' I turned and raised an eyebrow at him, smiling.

'Not even you?' I teased, shoving against him with my shoulder.

'Specially not me. The only reason I'm this strong is because of my asshole of a Father.' I turned to face him to see his jaw clenched tightly and his hands pulled into fists as they rested against his legs.

'I don't think that's true. You were already strong before he implanted the lacrima in you; after all, a lacrima can only do so much. You've gotten stronger and stronger and developed by yourself, not because of him or that ball of lightning magic.' I spoke softly, staring out at the setting sun so I wouldn't have to look at him as he took in my words.

For a while, we sat in silence, watching the sun descend as the sky slowly became darker.

'Thanks blondie... not many people get what it was like, having those kind of expectations and the pressure to get stronger. No one said it to my face, but I could hear them muttering about me, "Isn't that the Drayer kid? Shouldn't his magic have manifested by now?" God I hated them. They didn't even consider I was my own person, all they saw was the grandson of Makarov Drayer and the son of Ivan Drayer, both impossibly strong mages, and I was the dud. Ended up believing it all too.' He scoffed, running a hand through his spiky hair as he stared down at the floor.

'Then dear old Dad got impatient, and decided it was "in my best interests" to stick that... thing in me. I could have died, but afterwards, once the pain was gone... I had magic. The whispers stopped, at least that's what I thought. They just changed. "Look! That's Makarovs grandkid!" You know, I ended up hating gramps for being famous like he is; I wasn't _Laxus_ to them. I was just Makarovs descendent. That's why I hated weakness, people who were weak were alone. They weren't worth being recognised as themselves, just as a weakling.' I stared at him, watching as he breathed deeply as he bared his pain to me.

'When Gramps chucked Dad out of the guild, I knew he was right. I knew it needed to be done, and I knew Gramps hated himself for throwing his own son out of his guild; But I hated him for it. The whispers came back again, "Look, that's Drayer's kid, you know, Makarovs kid who he threw out? That's _that guys_ son. You think he's crazy too?" I couldn't take it, so I blamed Gramps for everything. All they spoke about was Makarov this, Makarov that. Damn, I was so _pathetic_!' He clenched his fists tightly as he pressed them against his legs, his shoulders hunched over slightly as his body tensed with the memories and emotions.

'I became the dickhead you used to know; I hated everyone and everything, except the few people I considered to be strong or who managed to be stubborn enough not to be scared off by my attitude or lack of care. That's when the Raijinshuu were formed, I was fifteen and was training for the S-class exam that was going to go on after my sixteenth birthday, and they helped me out. I passed because of Ever, Freed and Bix letting me train with them. I was still an ass, even to them, but I knew they saw me as me, so I put up with them. Everyone else was just like those people, whispering about me behind my back, "He's going to be the next guild master? Is Makarov _insane_? What, _he's_ Makarov's grandkid? No way!" You know, that kinda hurt after hearing it every time a newbie came to the guild. ' He laughed it off, raising his head to look up at the darkening sky. I shivered lightly, but sat still, waiting for him to finish.

'I hated being judged by my Grandfather's successes, and only being recognised because of my name. That's why I wanted to be stronger than everyone, so I could walk down the street and hear them say "That's _Laxus_" not just the Great Makarov Drayer's grandkid.' I smiled sadly as he finished speaking, and reached out to lay a hand over one of his fists.

'You know what Sparky, no one in the guild has ever called you Makarov's kid. We all know and love you for _who you are_, as Laxus. Sure, I can see some resemblance between you two, but you're completely different. You're Laxus, he's Makarov. No matter what happens, that will never change. You don't need to be strong to be you, you just have to recognise that the people you love, also love you for who you are, not because of who your relatives are or were. You want to know why I never go anywhere blabbering about my last name? Because then I'd have money grubbing scammers at my door, wanting to pinch up Heartfilia the Heiress. I understand how it feels to be judged on your name, but to all of us in Fairy Tail, you're just Laxus. Not Drayer. Just Laxus.' I heard him hold his breath, before his fist relaxed and he grabbed my hand tightly.

'Thanks blondie.' He whispered, giving my hand a gently squeeze before he stood up and walked off towards the camp.

'Come on blondie; food's ready.'

_Flashback Ends_

* * *

I grinned up at the ceiling as I heard him groan and mumble in his sleep, before his snores became louder and I swear I heard the bed shake slightly.

I sighed and twisted around so I was as comfy as I could be on my sofa, smiling as I used his snores and gently breathing to lull me to sleep.

**Laxus's POV**

I groaned as the pounding in my head got louder and louder. My eyes felt heavy, but I forced them to open a crack, before shutting them tight as light penetrated my sockets. It felt like someone had shot me in the head with my own lightning.

'I am never drinking again.' I heard a giggle beside me, and turned to face the source of the noise, sniffing to identify who it was.

'How many times have you said that before sparky?' I grimaced, my eyes still tight shut as I turned my head back to face the ceiling.

'Shut up blondie.' I muttered, ignoring the delicious smell of eggs and bacon that was suffocated the air with its scent.

'You'd better get up and eat before Natsu shows up and nicks all the food.' She called out from the kitchen area. I growled at the thought of that pink bastard stealing the food that rightfully belonged to me.

'You can growl as much as you want Sparky, but if you don't move your ass now you ain't getting anything!' I forced my eyes open and sat up, my head spinning at the sudden manoeuvre.

'Eugh. I hate alcohol.' I mumbled as I slowly walked across to collapse into the chair at the table.

'Could have fooled me last night.' She said, placing a plate piled high with bacon and eggs and hash browns in front of me. I felt myself waking up as the food finally registered, and quickly began to eat it, swallowing it down quickly to rejuvenate my hung-over mind.

'Slow down sparky, you'll choke.' She said, laughing as she placed her own food on the table; a plate with a significantly smaller amount of food on it than what was before me.

'Are you anorexic or something blondie?' I asked around a mouthful of buttered bread and bacon. She glared up at me before neatly cutting into her food.

'No, you're just a weirdo dragon slayer with a stomach that has more room than a black hole.' I grunted and smirked as I took a large bite out of my bread, before shovelling in some more bacon.

'Whatever blondie. Fancy a mission soon? I know you've gotta pay off the rent to this place.' I looked down at her as she thought about it, calculating how long she had left to pay her rent.

'I know, but I think I should go on one with Team Natsu if you don't mind. I feel kind of guilty for leaving them like I have twice now. Besides, I promised to go on missions with them, even though I'm not officially part of their team anymore.' My eating pace slowed slightly as I realised that Blondie still wasn't an official member of the Raijinshuu either.

_Didn't she say she was going back to the idiot crew? Damn I hope not._ I shoved the thoughts from my mind as she took my now empty plate away from me, and watched as she walked back into the kitchen, her hips swinging from side to side.

It had been pretty difficult for me to control myself on Tenrou, and I could tell Bix was the same if not worse. At least I didn't have to physically touch her during our training; Bix had to get up close and personal.

I felt the dragon in me stir, agitated at the thought of him close to her, but suppressed the growl that tried to claw its way out of my throat. Bix would never do anything like that without blondie's agreement; despite his perverted reputation, he was actually quite the gentleman where women were concerned. Of course, he didn't include Ever in that, as she was a team mate, not a woman according to him anyway.

'Fine with me blondie. Just be careful, you're a lot stronger now than before, and I know you have a strong hold on it, but it's easy to slip up. Stay alert, and stay safe. Call me if you have any trouble, you got it?' I told her, pointing at the small communication Lacrima I'd had designed into a necklace for her to wear as an emergency comms device should she be in trouble.

She smiled at me, rolling her eyes.

'You got it sparky. Now come on, Mira has a massive batch of her hang-over remedy waiting for you at the guild.' I groaned at the thought of that sickly green mixture that passed off as a drink somehow; though it look more alive than the corpses buried in Magnolia Cemetery.

**Unknown POV**

'Master, I await your commands. I assume you retrieved the object you desired?' The cloaked figure sat in a throne that was carved out of a blackened tree trunk, the bark torn and breaking off into jagged angles with deadly sharp points. On the armrest, there was a blackened wooden box, and the cloaked man lay a pale, bony hand on top of the box, as though to protect it.

'You can assume correctly. You know the plan, now it can finally be put into action.' The kneeling figure rose from the ground, his head bowed as he backed out of the room.

The person in the throne stroked the box, his long sharp nails scratching slightly at the wood as he cackled to himself.

'The time has finally come... I shall not lose to you, Heartfilia, and Fairy Tail shall fall along with you.' Luminous red eyes peered out from the dark hood of the cloak as the person threw back their covered face and laughed manically; causing the magpies that had been resting on the throne to screech before flapping away frantically as the sound echoed in the still air.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N:** I'M BACK GUYS! Well, I got back yesterday, but was far too tired to write, so long chapter today for you lucky things! I would have updated earlier, but I got my results from my exams today and lets just say I was disappointed in myself. They were okay, but not as good as I wanted them to be. :/ :'(

Either way, this is one of the chapters I managed to spiel out on my rainy holiday! There shall be more tomorrow, though I may be busy a lot organising university text books and becoming poor from the money loss. ;) :(

Hope you enjoy, and it's great to be back!

And to the reviewers who think it's the celestial dude who got chopped by the bad ass Polaris, do you really think I'd use the same villain _twice_? ;) mwahahaha!

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

'Luce! Come on a mission with us!'I laughed as Natsu threw himself across the guild to pull me into a tight, warm hug; taking a deep intake of breath as he smelt my hair that hung loose around my face.

For a moment, I thought I heard a low growl from beside me and glanced towards the hung-over Laxus who stood there nonchalantly, his hands buried deep in his pockets and his cloak resting on his shoulders as usual.

_Hmm... must be imagining things..._

'LUSSSHHHYYYY!' Happy flew forwards, slamming Natsu away from me so he could hug me as much as he could with his short cat arms.

'Hey Happy.' I giggled, hugging the blue exceed tightly and patting his head.

'Lushy! Can we go get my fish? Pleeaaaseeee! You promised!' He looked up at me with teary eyes, begging me silently as I smiled down at him, trying to restrain my happiness slightly. I'd missed Happy a lot, despite him constantly complaining about my weight and carrying me, and his annoying way of rolling his tongue and insinuating things to Mira, he always managed to make me smile.

'How about I get it after this job Natsu wants to go on, ne?' My smile widened as he began to drool slightly and hum in anticipation as stars appeared in his eyes. Natsu started cheering and jumping up and down in excitement, his arms waving in the air.

'YAY! Luce is coming on a job with us!' He ran over to the request board, quickly searching for a request before excitedly grabbing one and punching Gray in the face as he tucked the mission in his trousers back pocket. Obviously, this started a brawl, but I couldn't help but smile and shake my head.

I'd truly missed all of Fairy Tail, and it was nice to see Gray and Natsu up to their usual antics. I always felt more at home in the rowdy guildhall than I did anywhere else, and Natsu and Gray where the brothers I wished I'd always had.

'Hey, Blondie.' I looked up at Laxus, my smile fading slightly at his serious expression.

'Remember what I said; be careful out there.' I smiled softly at Laxus, my head tilting slightly as I inclined my head in agreement. Happy was too busy imagining the giant fish I was going to get him to notice the exchange, and so he was still in his fantasy land as I replied.

'I'm always careful Sparky.' He glared at me slightly, before ruffling up my hair affectionately and shuffling towards the bar where Mira had pre-made a huge line of her revolting gelatinous hangover remedy. Somehow, the brawl had intensified to include Gajeel and Elfman, yet it seemed to dissipate where Laxus trod, the members aware that should Laxus join the fight in his hung-over state that they would all be asleep for the next week due to the electrical surge to their systems.

I smirked at the thought of Laxus downing the green substance Mira had handed to him with an evil grin on her angelic face; the drink seemed to move and bubble when you weren't looking straight at it, and there was some sort of swirling colour change at the base of the glass.

Before I could observe Laxus's reaction to the drink, I was pulled into a familiar armoured chest, and had to quickly drop Happy so he wouldn't be crushed in the tight embrace that left me gasping for air, before I smiled and returned Erza's hug.

'I missed you so much Lucy. Both Lisanna and I had a lot of difficulty without you; especially in our attempts at controlling those two.' I laughed lightly at her pained, whispered words.

'I missed you too Erza, so much.' I mumbled quietly, tightening my hold around the woman who I always looked up to and who I considered as a big sister. I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes, and forced them back. Of course, Ever and I had grown just as close as I was to Erza, yet no one could replace the spot in my heart reserved for her.

The scarlet haired woman had been my idol, and I aspired every day to reach the level of strength she had, as well as to gain the strong and pure heart she hid behind her armour and stony exterior.

Our hug tightened even further, before we slowly released each other, grinning through our teary eyes and squeezing each other's hands.

'Hey cosplayer, fancy going on a job?' Bix's loud voice called out from behind me, interrupting mine and Erza's sisterly moment, and before I could react or turn to glare at him, his long tanned arm was slung over my should and his familiar hand brushed against my bare arm, making me shiver slightly.

I rolled my eyes, trying to disguise my reaction to his touch, and smiled at his babies as they nudged against me in greeting, their high pitched laughter ringing out.

'Sorry Bix, Natsu asked first.' I struggled to shrug under the heavy weight of his muscular arm, and only succeeded in making his dangling forearm swing slightly.

'Aw! Come on cosplayer! You know Freed and Ever will be all snappy cause there's "no one good enough to talk to" and "Laxus-sama is amazing, but Lucy-sama understands books so much more!"' I laughed as he threw his voice in a comedic impersonation of his team mates.

'Sorry Bix, I promised Natsu. I'm sure you can handle being without me for a few days.' He groaned, and shoved more of his body weight onto me, his chest brushing against my back slightly before I staggered under his mass.

'Oh get off Bix. I was talking to Erza!' I pouted as I snapped at him, removing the sharp edge of my tone with my expression. He laughed as he released me, before sobering up immediately as he noticed Erza's death glare.

'Lucy and I were having a sisterly moment; I would greatly appreciate your immediate absence, Bickslow.' I struggled to hold back my grin as Bix shuddered under her gaze and nodded his head rapidly in agreement.

Before he left, he gave me a quick half hug, his arm tight around my shoulders as he leaned in and whispered to me.

'Be careful cosplayer.' I smiled and nodded, staring into his dark red eyes as he stepped away and sauntered across to sit with Laxus at the bar.

'Well, you two seem close.' Erza commented, her eyebrows raised and her arms crossed as she smiled at me.

I felt a blush creep along my face before I clamped a hand over her mouth, looking around to see where Mira was.

'Ssh! Mira might hear... and of course we're close! They trained me for over a month!' I felt Erza's lips stretched into a grin under my palm as she waggled her eyebrows suggestively at me.

I grimaced at her, removing my hand from her face as I pouted sadly.

'You've been spending way too much time with Cana. And Mira.' I whined, folding my arms and looking away from her as she laughed lightly, before she forced me into linking arms with her.

She pulled me towards the table where Team Natsu sat, excluding both Natsu and Gray, who were now throwing frozen and flaming chairs across the guild at each other.

**Ever's POV**

I watched Lucy exit the guild as she waved in our direction, before being dragged out by Natsu who was in a rush to take her on the job he'd picked out for them. From what it looked like, it would only be Natsu, Lucy and Happy going on this job.

I frowned as I placed the empty glass on the table and rose gracefully to walk over to Erza who sat alone at a table, Lisanna having finally left to calm down a fuming Gray.

She looked up from the cake she was eating, and seemed surprised as I sat beside her.

'Don't talk, just listen, _Titania._' She nodded slowly, her expression serious as she stared intently at me, understanding from my own gloomy demeanour that what I had to say was important.

'There's not much I can tell you, it's up to Lucy what she wants you to know. Just know this, Lucy is stronger, no doubt about it, but don't leave her in a fight. Stay with her _at all times_, do you understand, _Titania?_' She frowned at the repeated use of her media given title, but nodded her agreement.

'Make sure you tell the pink haired idiot. I can't deal with that much stupid; after all, I'm the _true_ fairy of Fairy Tail.' I smiled, but no emotion reached my eyes as I stood and exited the guild, making my way hastily towards Fairy Hills.

As soon as I was shut in the safety and seclusion of my room, I breathed deeply to try and hold back my growing panic and worry for Lucy.

It was true Lucy's strength had improved; at an alarming rate if truth be told, both physically and magically due to the intensive training programme Bix and Laxus had put her through, along with the frequent sessions Freed and I managed to get in her breaks. However, rather than the magic she'd absorbed from Tenrou originally returning to the island as we'd hoped, the opposite occurred.

Instead, it was as though Lucy had become a magnet for the magic of the island, and it became harder and harder for her to retain her control over her ever increasing magical supplies.

There's only so much magic a magician's body can store before it overflows, and becomes too much for the mage to handle without getting rid of it. If that didn't happen, the magic would either consume the mage entirely, or it would forcibly expel itself in powerful and pure shots of energy that exploded wildly with no concern for damage or harm to other people or the mage themselves.

She could easily summon all of her spirits at the same time, and keep their gates open for hours. Also, her control over Urano Metria had improved astronomically and the spells strength had multiplied tenfold as well. From what her spirits told us of Urano Metria, the more powerful the mage the harder it was to control that spell, so it was a testament to her focus and magical discipline that she was able to control it as she could, however it wasn't enough.

She was now definitely a mage to reckon with, but she had to remain constantly alert of her magic levels, for if they overwhelmed her we had no idea what would happen. Seeing as this type of magical absorption had never occurred in history, we could only base our predications off of cases where mages had an illness that caused their magical containers to shrink and then their magical ability destroyed them.

Master Mavis was just as worried as all of us. She'd helped with Lucy's training where she could, and had observed many sessions, and had warned Lucy when we decided to come back to the guild not to get into any big fights or difficult missions, though she could easily make it as an S-class mage now.

Privately, I felt she could hold her own against Laxus, Gildarts and even the old Mystogan before he left for Edolas. However I looked at it, if Lucy had a single slip up and lost focus at any given time, she would be in a lot of trouble; along with anyone near her.

Her spirits had been especially worried for her.

* * *

_Flashback_

_After one week on Tenroujima_

I was walking towards the clearing where Laxus was training Lucy, carrying bottles filled with water for each of them when there was a massive explosion from the direction I was headed in.

For a moment, I froze in shock, staring at the immense cloud of smoke that billowed from the clearing and the sudden silence that permeated the air. I felt the bottles slip from my arms as I started to run, thrashing my arms ahead of me to slap the clinging twigs away from me as I desperately advanced towards the clearing.

I burst out from the trees to see Laxus holding a limp Lucy in his arms as blue magic that looked like sparks of lightning sparked form her skin.

Suddenly, Nick and Loke appeared, pulling her out of Laxus's arms, earning an aggressive growl from him before Nick began to heal her and Loke cut Laxus off with a dark glare as he knelt with Lucy's head resting on his legs.

'What the fuck happened?' Bix was beside me and breathing heavily as Freed appeared from the trees. I shook my head as I started forwards, Bix and Freed right behind me as we converged on the group, our eyes not leaving the phoenix spirit as he healed Lucy.

'I don't know what happened; one minute she was focusing her magic, then she got distracted by something and it spiralled out of control.' Laxus stood and began to pace with clenched fists, anxiously watching Loke as he combed his ringed fingers through Lucy's blonde hair and muttered comforting words to her before she groaned and opened her eyes.

'Lucy-Hime, are you alright?' Virgo had appeared beside her, and knelt with her expressionless face staring down a her master; the only show of her concern was in the tight, white fists her hands had made that now slowly ploughed into the earth.

'Hey guys, I'm fine. No need to worry.' She laughed quietly, her throat sounding dry and parched as she reached out to Nick and Virgo to reassure them.

'"No need to worry"!? What the _fuck_ blondie!? You could have _died_!' Laxus was shouting, his body quivering with unrepressed rage and his face pale with his worry and pain; his eyes overflowing with absolute fear at the idea of her death.

Laxus got a glare from all three of Lucy's spirits, before Virgo ignored him and grasped Lucy's hand in her own, gently rubbing her pale skin.

'Hime-sama, His Majesty has expressed his concern for your magical output. He requested for you to wear this bracelet as a limiter. It shall absorb the majority of your excess magical output as long as you focus it into the bracelet. Punishment Hime?' As Virgo spoke, she slipped a dark blue beaded bracelet onto Lucy's pale bare wrist, and the magical pressure surrounding us all decreased rapidly. I'd had no idea that this had all come from Lucy, and gasped as the weight of the pressure left my body, my eyes widening in shock. I knew Freed, Bix and Laxus felt the same decrease, and we all stared at her in shock.

Virgo smiled slightly as Lucy smiled at her and shook her head at the spirits request, before she disappeared from our world, and I swore I saw her face crack as tears began to slide down her face before the golden light took her home.

_Flashback Ends_

* * *

Ever since then, Lucy had worn the bracelet from the spirit world, and it had absorbed a great deal of her power. However, she had now developed into constantly producing the magical energy that she had accumulated from Tenrou, and so it had become a never ending cycle. Lucy would always have this huge amount of magic pressing against her.

Freed had analysed the bracelet, and he concluded that he was unsure of how much energy the bracelet would actually take before breaking, so Lucy had to watch her magic even more vigilantly than she would have otherwise had the bracelet had an unlimited ability to absorb it all.

Basically, if her focus slipped too much, though it was unlikely at this point- controlling her magic had become a subconscious and almost automatic habit for her by now- she could be in severe danger.

I slid to the floor, and wrapped my arms around my legs, hugging them tightly to my chest as I rested my head on my knees; my thoughts now completely focused on Lucy as I worried about her wellbeing more than I had in over a month.

**Unknown POV**

In the shadows of an alleyway stood a figure cloaked in the darkness, the shadows seeming to swallow him into their ominous depths and hiding him from the light.

He smiled as he saw the woman being dragged along by the dragon slayer.

_'And so it begins...'_ He chuckled before descending into the pit of darkness and disappearing on the breath of a cold wind.


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N:** Here's the update guys! Sorry, didn't feel like it yesterday, and I knew I wouldn't be able to deliver. :) But here you go! This one's pretty good, and next chapter, some stuff might go down... you never know.

And to answer the guest review I got, my villain is an OC, not anyone from the manga or anime. :)

Enjoy! :) xx

* * *

**Natsu's POV**

I grinned and swayed my body back and forth as I sat cross legged on Lucy's bed, which for some reason smelt a lot like Laxus, but I was not going to let that put a dampener on my mood and decided not to ask Luce about it.

I was still angry and annoyed that she'd decided to go off with Laxus and the Raijinshuu to train and for their help; I was her partner and teammate, and we're _supposed_ to be on the level with each other and have each other's backs no matter what. But I forced those feelings back; I was just so happy Luce was back and that she was the same as she always had been, I couldn't help but reach near to bursting with happiness!

Luce was _back!_ Plus, she'd promised she wouldn't disappear like that again, and I knew she always kept her word, no matter what. Not just because she was a celestial mage and promises where some kind of big deal, but because it was Luce who swore it to me, and she was cool like that.

I sniggered as she started to trip over her rug while carrying a pile of clothes, and she let out her distinctive little scream before quickly righting her footing rather than fall flat on her face.

I forced my mouth into a straight line as she turned to glare at me; barely able to hold back the grin and causing the edges of my mouth to hurt from the strain.

'Lussshhyyyy! Hurry up! I want my fiiissshhhhh!' Happy had been floating around following her everywhere, his body slumped as he whined about getting the fish she promised. I saw her annoyance at him increase combined with my barely restrained laughter and smiled evilly. Happy hadn't noticed her dark aura making it's slow appearance, and moaned again with a little bit of drool slipping out of his mouth. When she finally snapped at him I couldn't help but start laughing hysterically and throwing myself back to lie on her bed, staring up at the pink ceiling and grinning.

_Luce is back!_ I let my arms flop out so I was lying like a cross, and quieted my chuckles when I heard her walking towards me.

I took in a deep breath, pulling in her unique smell of vanilla and strawberries. Everyone had their own smell, but Luce's was really nice and fresh; it was one of the reasons why I liked to sneak into her room and sleep with her, she just smelled really nice.

_Luce is back!_ I thought again, not able to squish the over excited train of happiness in my head.

_Eugh, train..._ I felt myself going slightly queasy at the thought of that monstrous machine of movement, before Luce interrupted my thoughts.

'What's so funny Natsu?' I felt her drop down to sit beside me and lifted my head slightly to look at her, grinning wildly and ignoring the brittle tone of voice she used even though I could tell she was holding back her anger by a thread.

'I'm glad you're back Luce!' I shouted out, throwing my body upright and pulling her tightly into a hug, her back against my chest, as I pulled her down so we were lying on the bed together. She let out a surprised squeak as we fell backwards, but sighed and settled against me, lifting her hands to clutch onto mine.

'I missed you too Natsu. Even though you eat all my food and burn all my stuff, I missed you too.' I smiled and squeezed her tighter before releasing her.

'She liiiiiiiikkeeesssss him!' Happy hovered around a foot away, his paw covering his mouth as he smirked in our directions, his eyes narrowed slightly with mirth.

I laughed as Luce glared at him and got up to case him around the room.

Luce was back, and this time she wasn't going anywhere; I wouldn't let her.

**Lucy's POV**

'So Natsu, what job did you pick out? Please say it's not some big fighting job.' I whined as we walked to the train station, Natsu skipping ahead with Happy, his massively overstuffed green backpack bouncing over his shoulders, with a string of raw sausages dangling out of the top flap, catching the attention of every dog we walked past.

'Nope. I picked a job for you Luce!' He spun and shoved the paper at me before turning and skipping along again.

I looked down at the request, slightly surprised. Natsu was thoughtful in his own way, but when it came to jobs, he always liked to pick out the one where he could destroy as much as possible, or fight as many people as possible.

I preferred jobs that had a much lower level of danger and which probably wouldn't end up with me in a coffin.

I quickly scanned the paper and blinked in surprise.

I was a simple escort mission; apparently, a young man was getting married and required an escort to his fiancées home. Obviously, it was from people of the upper-class; the reward was ridiculously high, and there was a spirit key as part of the reward as well.

We were to meet up with the client in Onibus, and escort him by road to Kunugi. Apparently the client disliked trains, and so an extra two days were added onto the mission's time, meaning we had to camp out before travelling the last few miles to the employer's home.

I grinned and ran to catch up with Natsu, the job request held tightly in my fist as I laughed and grabbed onto his arm.

'Come on Natsu! We'll miss the train!' I heard him groan from behind me, and glanced back to see his cheeks swollen up and his face tinged an unhealthy shade of green.

'Oh come on! You can't get sick at the mention of transport!' He groaned and staggered slightly, his face going even greener as I laughed at him, pulling him into the train station to buy our tickets.

I pulled him onto the train and into our own private compartment; the ticket masters of Magnolia knew Natsu all too well and always had a spare compartment set aside for the sickly dragon slayer.

I pulled him inside the compartment and sat him down beside me, immediately, he dropped down so his head rested on my lap and sighed in relief.

'Thanks Natsu.' I muttered as I ran my fingers through his soft hair as he snored lightly as the train began to move towards Onibus.

**Unknown POV**

The cloaked figure watched the train pull away from the safety of the shadows, before smirking and retreating into the darkness.

He pulled out a communications lacrima from beneath his cloak and activated it. A pair of glowing eyes showed up in the projection, filled with an emotionless gaze that held immense hatred behind its depths.

'_The plan is in motion, sir._' The figures guttural voice whispered on the air, unheard by the ears of passersby who saw nothing in the darkness; preferring to deter their gaze towards the light.

Nothing good came from the dark.

_'Good. Continue as planned_.' A deep, croaky voice muttered through the lacrima and the eyes disappeared as the link was shut down.

The figure silently put away the lacrima, before dissolving into the darkness once again, unnoticed by those who tread the path of light; the only creature who did notice the shift in the air was a small black kitten that shrieked and ran out from the alley with its hackles raised from the evil stench of murder and deceit.

_'Not long now...'_


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N:** Sorry for the late update, there shall be more tomorrow, hopefully more than one chapter, but that depends on how busy I am! I'm re-watching one of my fave anime's in between writing, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, but don't worry! The end is approaching! And you shall discover who and what is going on! ;) XD

Enjoy Lovies! Neko over and out for now! :) xx

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

We finally arrived in Onibus in the early evening, and decided to meet our client the next day. I managed to drag a partially recovered Natsu along to a hotel, and paid for a room with two single beds saving around 5,000 jewels it would have cost us for two single rooms.

I dropped Natsu onto his bed and smiled as he groaned slightly, the thought of transportation remaining in his mind thanks to Happy making "choo-choo!" noises as I pulled Natsu through the streets.

I dropped my bag beside my bed and fell back onto the soft mattress, sighing and closing my eyes.

The train ride was slightly uncomfortable, Natsu's head made my legs go slightly numb and I had to fight through pins and needles. I could have shoved him off, but then it would have smelled of vomit, and I'd much rather suffer through the muscle pain than smell puke for hours.

I was exhausted, and couldn't be bothered to shower right now, so I slipped off my boots and curled up on the bed, clutching my key pouch in my hands and hugging it to my chest as I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

'Come on Natsu! We're going to be late.' I whined at him as he ate the hotel out of food. The waiters and other guests stared in astonishment and disgust as Natsu shovelled plates full of food down his throat so his stomach bulged with the immense amount of food and his cheeks were blown up like a hamsters, filled with half chewed food before it was swallowed and visibly travelled down his throat.

I cringed at the site. During my time with the Raijinshuu and Laxus, I'd become used to their more normal ways of eating (though Bix sometimes threw food at his Babies, and Laxus let out some really weird lightning burps) I was not used to Natsu's eating habits anymore, and blushed red under the gaze of all the people in the hotel breakfast room.

'Okay Luce, let's go!' Natsu managed to speak through a mouthful of food as he stood up and started to stagger away, his belly swaying from side to side. I rolled my eyes and left a large tip for the waiters, forcing myself to think of the high reward and the poor guys job that included picking up all of the dirty plates and food Natsu had showered when he started talking with his mouth full.

I followed him out of the hotel, thankful Virgo had appeared this morning to take my suitcase off of me as we walked across town to meet our client.

We stopped in front of a large, posh hotel around three times the size of the small one we'd stayed in. I frowned and turned to look at Natsu; he had food all down his waistcoat and top, thank Mavis he's taken to wearing tops now. He would never be allowed into this place, they have kind of dress codes.

'Natsu, you wait outside, me and Happy can go fetch the client. Keep an eye out for suspicious people, alright? We have no idea why this guy needs us.' He grinned at me and showed me a thumbs up as he wandered across the street to lean against a wall and stared at everyone walking past.

I smiled and gestured for Happy to follow me.

I walked into the hotel through the ornate, glass double doors, and stood in a marble room made up of creams and whites with a massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling, refracting the light off of the thousands of coloured crystals.

Happy hovered by my shoulder, his mouth open in wonderment at the ornate entrance hall, and I couldn't help but smile. If there was one thing I used to love about having "the good life", it was the beauty of the places I was allowed to visit. It was the "allowance" of going to places that I had issues with, I was dreadfully restricted and enclosed by my Father's strict and single-minded stubbornness and disregard.

I shook myself out of the reverie, and walked over to the reception desk, folding my arms to lean on the counter as I smiled up at the male clerk. He visibly gulped as I pushed my cleavage up and blinked several times before stuttering as he asked what I might want.

'Oh, I'm here to collect one of your guests, a Mister Xavier Quentin?' I giggled as the clerk seemed to lose his focus as his eyes drifted downwards again.

'Would you mind calling him and letting him know his escorts are here? We're in a bit of a hurry.' I pouted up at him and lifted one arm to twiddle with my hair as he nodded in a half-daze and picked up his telephone.

I thanked the desk clerk, and skipped away to admire a huge bouquet of white roses and lilies that sat in an ornate Ming vase that had beautiful decoration that was incredibly detailed.

I watched Happy as he chased round some of the refracted light from the crystal chandelier and laughed at the cat like antics that the other Exceed's would look down on, but which Happy adopted so easily.

'Excuse me, are you my escort?' I heard a deep voice behind me and turned with a smile, only to have it fall from my face in shock.

Before me stood one of the most handsome men I'd ever seen in my life.

He had platinum blonde hair that hung around his ears and was naturally curly, not too much that it was a mini afro, just enough that the ends seemed to raise towards the sky. His eyes were a deep, dark blue that reminded me of the ocean, or the evening sky just as the sun had set and darkness was appearing along with the first few stars. His skin was pale, but not unhealthily so, and his lips were perfectly proportioned along with the rest of his face.

He stood taller than me by a couple of inches, and as he smiled, he showed off a set of perfect white teeth along with an amused sparkle that seemed to light up his incredibly perfect face.

He wore a simple black t-shirt, and over the top a long white jacket that was similar to Freeds in style. He wore black trousers that hung off of his slim waist, and he carried a rucksack slung over one shoulder.

_Hot Mamma! _ I thought, my thoughts completely obliterated by the stunning piece of man in front of me.

'Umm, sorry, I must have the wrong person.' He blushed slightly and started to back away, looking over to the reception desk.

'Oh! Wait, no I am! We are! Yes, I'm your escort! Not that kind of escort, but me and my partners are here to take you.' I felt a dark red blush creep up my face, and laughed awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head, a bashful smile plastered over his face... that gorgeous face...

'Sorry! My name is Lucy, this is Happy, and outside is my partner Natsu. If you're ready we can leave right away.' Happy had opened his mouth while I was speaking, but I quickly grabbed him and hugged him to my chest, covering his mouth tightly so I wouldn't have to hear that annoying roll of his tongue. Besides, I didn't need him to tell me that I liked this guy!

Hell, every woman who walked past was eyeing up his butt... I couldn't wait to get to that angle...

_NOOOOO Lucy! Client! Ethics! ENGAGED! But daaaamn that ass... Mavis sure did a good job on this one..._ I forced myself to snap out of my perverted thoughts; I'd been spending far too much time with Bix and Cana lately

'I'm ready when you are Miss Lucy.' He said, his voice not too deep and gravelly like Laxus's, but not as high pitched as Natsu's sometimes was.

'Oh please, just Lucy is fine Mr Quentin!' He smiled down at me, making my heart stutter slightly.

_NO! Bad Lucy! Oh but he makes me want to be bad... Noooooooo way! Focus!_

'Then please, call me Xavier. After all, we are spending the next couple of days together.' I giggled slightly as we walked out of the hotel.

'Luce! Hey! Who's the pretty boy?' Natsu called out, bounding up to me and throwing an arm around my shoulder before turning a glare on Xavier.

I scowled at him and his attitude.

'Natsu, this is our client, Xavier Quentin.' He glared for a second longer before grinning.

'Okay! Let's go! Luce, why are you holding Happy like that? He looks like he can't breathe.' Natsu said, nodding his head to the blue bundle in my hands. I looked down to see a slightly purple Happy, who was flailing slightly in my tight grip.

'Oops!' I squealed, releasing him and apologising as he took in huge gasps of air, before muttering to him while Natsu spoke to Xavier about dragons.

'If you can hold back your tongue rolling for this mission, I'll get you two fishes when we get back, really big ones.' Instantly, Happy was happy again, and was drooling as he floated along beside me while we walked along the road that would eventually lead us to Kunugi.

**Bickslow's POV**

I stared into the amber liquid that filled up my tankard, and sighed for the seventh time since getting this drink, and drained it before placing the mug on the table.

'Bix, you sigh like that one more time I'm going to turn you into stone!' Ever scowled across at me and glared from behind her glasses before returning to read her fashion magazine.

'Shut up Ever.' I mumbled, poking at the handle of my tankard, slowly making it turn in a circle while my babies rested on my shoulders silently.

'Bickslow, we all miss Lucy-sama, but I concur with Evergreen when she says in her own charming way, your sighs have become aggravating and are only succeeding in increasing the worry and stress levels of both of us for Lucy-sama, so please refrain from doing so.' I lifted my head from the table and glared at Freed, who hid behind a thick book cosplayer had given him before she left.

He was reading it without his gale-force glasses so that he could savour it, apparently. I thought it was just so it would keep him distracted longer from the lack of our cosplayer.

'We shouldn't have let her go on a mission without us, or at all. Especially with that flame-tard! He's like a fight radar; either he homes in on one or makes one himself!' I exclaimed, glaring down at the grain of wood of the table, scratching at it with a nail and grunting my thanks to Mira as she placed another beer by my side, removing the empty tankard.

'Bix, she'll be fine. She has complete control over herself, and you trained her in fighting. You know she can stand up to all of us in a fair fight now, so she can deal with some low class bandits on a simple escort mission. Besides, she gets another key if this goes well, so another spirit to take u her energy for her. Good things all around. Now shut your face and go mope with Laxus; I want to read about this new Louis Vuitton handbag.' I sighed again and stood up slowly to go sit with Laxus. I didn't want to have to deal with Ever in the mood she was in.

She was just as worried about cosplayer as I was, along with Laxus and Freed.

Ever had gotten Erza to tell Natsu not to let cosplayer get into a big fight, or to leave her alone in a fight, but I didn't have much faith in that idiot's singular flaming brain cell acknowledging the instructions... then again, Erza probably terrified him into listening.

I slumped down next to Laxus, and we grunted our hello's, before simultaneously taking a drink from our respective drinks of alcohol.

'Worried about blondie huh?' I grunted at his question, not bothering to answer properly as I stared at the half empty guild.

It seems after cosplayer left, the partying for our return died down a lot, and most people had left on missions to get back the money they'd spent on drinks and whatever else they used it on in their drunken states; I heard that Macau had for some reason bought an extra house with the family holiday savings... obviously that didn't work out very well with Mrs Conbolt, so he and Wakaba had argued on which mission to take, before leaving as they called each other old men at every chance they got.

'Laxus, I'm bored.' I muttered, flicking my empty tankard so it fell and rolled slightly before steadying.

'Same. It's too quiet without blondie huh?' I grunted my agreement and was about to suggest that we go out somewhere, maybe on a mission of our own, when Loke burst in through the guild doors and stormed up to the bar before ordering a strong drink.

I exchanged a glance with Laxus before we hurriedly walked over to him.

'Hey, Loke. Is blondie alright?' Laxus asked, standing beside the spirit as he drank down a large glass of straight vodka.

'Tch. I'd say. She's better than alright.' Loke scowled and topped up his glass, drinking another large shot.

'Huh? What do you mean Loke?' I asked, frowning at his unusual behaviour. He only ever had good things to say about cosplayer.

'Tch. Stupid mission. Stupid blonde, tall, client. Stupid female hormones.' I looked at Laxus confused as Loke rambled into his glass.

'Hey, lion boy, tell us what's up with blondie already.' Laxus growled out, grinding his teeth in annoyance.

'Oh there's nothing wrong with my dear Princess. She doesn't love me any mooooreeee!' He wailed, already half inebriated as tears appeared at the edges of his eyes.

'Huh?' I questioned, once again exchanging a confused look with Laxus.

'Listen lion boy, just explain in a normal way what the hell's going on.' I told him, grabbing him and turning him to face me as I took the vodka out of his hands.

'The client! My dear Princess has been enamoured by this man who they are to escort for two days and one night! I don't trust him near my Princess! She is far too beautiful for that scoundrel! I shall castrate him should he come near her during her beauty sleep which she does not require!' Loke's voice had gotten darker as he threatened the guy, but I didn't notice as Laxus had begun to growl at the introduction of this guy cosplayer was apparently interested in, and I wasn't listening over the grinding of my teeth.

'So cosplayer found her some eye-candy, huh?' I growled out, listening to Loke's pathetic whimpers and cries about losing his one and only love to a wannabe cupid look alike.

**Makarov's POV**

I listened to Loke's wailing, and grinned evilly as I noticed both Laxus's and Bickslow's aggressive reactions towards the idea of Lucy having another suitor besides themselves.

_Hmm... interesting..._ I looked down at the bar to see Mira hyperventilating on the floor at the amount of pairings that were presented before her, and chuckled at her antics. Out of all my brats, she was by far the most amusing to keep an eye on.

_I wonder what will happen if I... Yes, I think I will interfere this one time..._ I smirked before I schooled my face into a more serious expression, and shouted down to Bickslow and Laxus to come to my office.

I ignored the glare they shot in my direction as they had tried to pull more information out of the drunk celestial spirit, and skipped into my office.

_Now to think of a reason to send those two off to Kunugi before they get here... ah, I know! There must be a couple of wyverns in that area... even if there aren't, they'll be far too distracted by our celestial mages budding romance to notice a lack of wyverns... haha, eat your heart out Mira! I am the Master Matchmaker of Fairy Tail!_

**Unknown POV**

The dark figure in the throne smiled darkly as the recording lacrima caught site of the backs of the group he would soon have in his clutches...

'Tonight, I shall gain the ultimate power... just you wait, Heartfilia. You shall be the key to the destruction of the guild you love so much...' The deep, husky voice ended in a hacking cough as the hunched over figure laughed, his wrinkled hands clutching tightly onto the lacrima as the blonde mage unwittingly walked on her way, unaware of the danger that presented itself before her.


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N:** Even I'm excited about the next chapter! Thanks for all the reviews you guys have given me, and I'm so sorry for all the cliffhangers! But this is the last one, and I know someone may murder me for it, but I felt like being evil! MWAHAHAHHAHHAHHAHAAAAAA! :D

ENJOY... IF YOU CANNN! ;) xx

**Lucy**: You're fucking weird Niko. Anyway guys, please remember to review and stuff, this girl's going crazy from her plotting about me getting-

*hand slaps over her big blonde run mouth*

**Niko:** SHUT UP! DON'T REVEAL MY PLANS! Now just read it and find out what happens! This hanger's a doozy! I'd hate me if I wasn't writing it! XD

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

We'd been walking for hours, and it was now approaching dusk. We'd travelled quite far, further than I'd anticipated when I first read the mission. I'd expected some pansy-ass lazy rich boy, but Xavier was quite athletic, and kept up with us easily.

Also, he was a complete gentleman. At one point, I'd had a stone in my boot, and had to stop. Natsu moaned and complained as usual, but Xavier offered me an arm to rest on while I removed the offending bit of rock from digging into my foot.

He generally walked beside me, because Natsu kept glaring at him for some reason, but I ignored him and listened as Xavier spoke to me about himself and his interests, after I'd prodded him into talking that is. He was quite modest, and shy!

He blushed quite a lot, but not a complete full face blush of embarrassment, just this cute little colouring at the top of his cheeks.

'Wow, this fiancée of yours is one lucky woman!' I laughed after he told a particularly funny story about a time he went riding and a prank his younger brothers had pulled which involved a bucket full of some stagnant pond water.

He grew quiet at that, and looked away, coughing slightly.

'Actually, I've never met her. It's an arranged marriage, one of convenience. I didn't want an escort, but my future father-in-law insisted. He's my Father's old business partner, and I've been advised to take this marriage to ensure the success of my company for my brothers.' I'd found out about his family situation a while ago. His parents were both dead, and he had inherited his Father's company all of a sudden as well as having to take care of his two younger brothers, he now has to run a multimillion jewel cooperation he hasn't yet been trained to run.

'Oh. I'm sorry.' I glanced up to see Natsu running ahead, playing some game with Happy; far too distracted to listen in.

'I know I hated being used as a pawn for my Father's monetary gain, and when he suggested an arranged marriage with some fat, lazy guy I'd never met that was it for me. The idea of marrying a stranger, someone foreign to everything I believe and feel... it just repulsed me. I know you're doing this for a different reason, to support your remaining family, but I just wanted you to know I understand how you must be feeling. Oh, and if you want to change your mind, don't be scared to. It's your life Xavier, I know your brothers are important to you, but this isn't your only option.' I smiled up at him, my breath catching slightly as the sun's rays captured his emotion filled eyes that showed his pain and confusion.

Suddenly, he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into his chest for a tight hug, surprising me and causing me to fall against him so my whole body pressed against his. I hesitated for a moment before encircling his waist with my arms and resting my hands on his back.

'Thank you Lucy.' He whispered, the tears and sorrow evident in his voice. I took a deep breath, smelling his strong, masculine cologne and sighed slightly as I squeezed him slightly tighter to me, feeling his muscles against my body.

'Oi! Luce! Quit hugging the client, we gotta set up camp, it's getting dark!' Natsu's irritated voice interrupted the moment, and I pulled back, smiling softly up at Xavier before skipping forwards, grinning at Natsu as I playfully slapped him round the head.

'Whatever Natsu. I'll ask Virgo to help set up camp, you keep an eye on Xavier, got it?' He growled out a grumble and nodded as he rubbed his head and stalked over to stand beside Xavier while I entered the trees to find a suitable camping spot with Happy trailing after me, speaking excitedly about fish.

**Natsu's POV**

'Hey.' I snapped at the blonde headed guy who'd been pissing me off all day. Who does he think he is? Luce is _my_ partner, and we're on a job. What makes him think he can touch her like that?

'Yes Natsu-san?' I scowled at him and crossed my arms, glaring menacingly at him.

'Don't talk to Luce anymore. You're engaged, and she's far too good for you. I don't want to have to pick up the broken pieces you'll leave behind when you marry your little rich girl, so _back off_.' I growled low in my throat as he stood there, not a single emotion flitted across his stony face and lit up my fists in an attempt to scare this bastard. He stared at me and slowly raised an eyebrow, not shifting at all as he spoke.

'I have no intention of hurting Lucy. She is a beautiful, strong woman, and I realised myself that she was out of my league; I didn't require your barbaric display to know that.' He started to walk past me and stopped as he stood next to me, beginning to speak once more without turning to look at me.

'Besides, what makes you think she wants _you_ to help her? Weren't you the one who destroyed something precious to her, something irreplaceable? What makes you think you can be there for her, _Natsu_?' My flames went out and I felt my face pale.

_What? Luce said she'd forgiven me... she wouldn't have told this guy anything, would she?_ My heart began to pound heavily against my rib cage, the panic and fear of Luce still hating me causing my body to react involuntarily.

'She didn't tell me a thing, but I can see it in her eyes, she remembers the pain you caused her. So maybe you should "back off" while I pick up the pieces that _you broke_.' I felt my heart seize in my chest at his words, and stood stock still as he walked away towards where Luce had gone and where she was now calling out for us to join her.

Just the thought of Luce hating me made my heart shatter and my blood run cold. A lot of people thought I loved her, and I do, just not in any way other than as a best friend. That's what Luce was to me... _is_ to me. She's the single constant in my life; my real human parents abandoned me when I was a kid, then Igneel left me, then Lisanna... too many people I loved left, but Luce wouldn't...

_Well, she did... but she came back... twice... but she came back both times, and she PROMISED she wouldn't go anywhere again without telling me!_

I didn't know how this guy could tell that Luce was upset; even I couldn't tell and I'd known her for what felt like forever. Although, she was an incredible actress, after all that time acting like a pampered rich girl for her Father, she could pull off fake happiness with no trouble at all; easily in fact.

'NATSSUUUU!' Happy's voice interrupted my thoughts, and I jerked around to look at him, forcing myself to smile. He stopped flying and blinked, frowning as he moved towards me again.

'Natsu? What's wrong? Did someone take your fish?' I smiled sadly at Happy and pulled him into a hug, feeling his paws pat against my chest reassuringly.

'It's okay Natsu; Lushy has lots of fish!' I laughed slightly, Happy always knew how to lift me up when I was down.

'Okay Happy, lead me to Luce.' I whispered, ignoring his concerned look as he flew ahead of me.

All the while that Luce was preparing the food and laughing to whatever that blonde headed freak said, I watched her closely, looking out and searching for the sadness that this guy said he'd seen in her eyes.

_Luce... you know I'm sorry, right? You said you forgive me; were you telling the truth?_

I quickly but silently ate the food she gave me, shutting out the puzzled look she shot at me, before quickly huddling in my sleeping bag and pretending to fall asleep. I listened to their conversation, and heard them both crawl into bed with Luce giving out a soft yawn.

After what felt like hours, I fell into a restless sleep, images of Luce's hurt face flickering throughout my mind as I remembered that day where I'd destroyed a piece of her heart.

He was right; I had no right to call her my friend after the pain I'd caused her.

It would be better for me to just leave her alone...

**Bickslow's POV**

Master had asked Laxus and I to come along to Kunugi to deal with a sudden rise in the monster population around the town.

We were both puzzled, seeing as how this was an odd thing for him to call us to his office to request, and I could feel Laxus's own annoyance and anger at Master interrupting our conversation with Loke mixing with my own irritation.

Then, I remembered the destination of Cosplayer's mission, and nudged Laxus as I agreed to take the mission for both of us. I hurriedly explained to Laxus after exiting Master's office why I'd accepted it, rather than decline as Laxus had wanted, and we agreed we should go to see what was going on ourselves.

By now, Loke was unconscious from the alcohol, and was murmuring about his Princess as he giggled and hiccupped while his head rested against the bar.

We wasted no time, and shouted our good byes to Freed and Ever before rushing out of the guild to the train station.

We arrived in Kunugi in the evening, and easily got ourselves a hotel room for the night.

I'd wanted to walk back down the road towards Onibus to look for cosplayer; something Loke had said was fraying at my nerves, and I was on edge, but Laxus convinced me to stay somehow.

'Man Laxus, you know I hate playing the waiting game!' I ground out from between my clenched teeth as I paced the room, my babies hovering worriedly around me, before zipping around the room in agitation, swooping everywhere as though searching for something before returning to my shoulder.

'I know Bix, you think I wanna stay here and wait too? You know Blondie can handle herself out there, we trained her. Besides, I think she'd be pissed if we suddenly turned up because her stupid cat turned up in a foul mood about something and drank himself under the table. She'd probably kick us both.' Laxus ended up mumbling, rubbing at the back of his head where most of Cosplayer's weird kicks had landed in the past month.

I grunted my agreement, but continued to pace, glaring at the window and door every time they caught my eye.

Suddenly, Laxus threw my metal grate at my head, making me turn to glare at him, but finding his face averted and his eyes closed.

'Bix, wear that till you calm down. Your Figure Eyes are going haywire.' I huffed out a sigh and pulled my old mask on over my eyes.

It was odd how now I found it to be annoying and obstructive when before I hadn't had a problem with it.

_Cosplayer got you used to seeing things and people again. No wonder you hate this fucking metal grate on your face now._ I ground my teeth together as I threw myself on my bed and slammed my eyes shut, taking deep breathes to try and calm myself.

After around five minutes of silence, I spoke, finally calm enough to talk to Laxus.

'You think she's ok?' I heard him scoff in reply, and turned to look at him to find him lying on his back with his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

'Course she is idiot. She was trained by us.' I grunted, feeling my babies finally calm down and come to sit beside my head on the pillow, cuddling up as close as they could so I could feel their shaking wooden bodies. They were just as worried about her as I was,

* * *

_Flashback_

'Oi! Cosplayer! Widen that stance! You're like a lamppost right now, I can easily knock you over.' I heard her scoff as she widened her stance.

'Knock over many lampposts on your travels then Bixy?' I glared at her as I grinned at her use of her nickname for me.

'Shut up cosplayer and focus. You're here to train, not give me sass!' She giggled lightly under her breath before focusing on her practice movements. Whenever I taught her a new move, I got her to go through it alone for a while before she put it into practice on me. At first, she complained about looking stupid, but eventually she shut up. After I'd threatened to tape her trap shut.

I grinned as I walked to the edge of the clearing where our water bottles had been left in the shade, staring at her body move as I drank deeply from the cool liquid.

She was a lot more toned than she had been when we started training, and her movements were more graceful and strong.

It didn't take me long till I was admiring her body; her long tanned legs that shifted through the air, her slim arms that had developed so much strength in the muscles from our training. Finally, her long, thick hair that hung just below her shoulders when loose, but was at the moment in a tight pony tail, swept up from her face so she wouldn't get distracted; the golden strands of silk swinging as she moved her body.

I shut my eyes and forced myself to look away, turning around so my back was facing her while I placed the bottle back in the shade slowly, as I tried to recover my senses.

Suddenly, I heard a bellow from behind me, an animalistic sound that made me spin around and search the edge of the clearing.

A huge animal that resembled a wild boar stood inside our training area, and had its blood red eyes trained on cosplayer, who'd frozen at the sight of the animal.

My heart froze as the huge beast pawed the ground before letting out a wild roar and beginning a run towards her.

It was closer than her already, and I was too far away as I started running, desperate to grab her and throw her clear.

She turned and started to spring towards me, but tripped over the lose laces of her trainers. She scrambled to get up, but the animal was bearing down on her.

Suddenly, a blinding green light shot past me and smashed into the creature's skull, sending it flying backwards to plough through the trees till it came to a stand still.

My mouth dropped open in shock, and I saw Cosplayer's face in a similar state of shock. I quickly ran over to her and dropped to my knees, checking her for injuries before pulling her tightly to my chest, shuddering from how close I'd come to losing her.

'Bix... did your babies just... do Baryon Formation by themselves?' She whispered, her voice shaky as she trembled slightly from the shock or a rampaging monster coming at her. I pulled back slightly, turning to look at my babies who'd zipped over to hover around cosplayer, before bumping against her with their high pitched laughter resounding around the clearing.

'Huh. Guess they like you cosplayer.' I mumbled, staring down at her as she blushed and rested her head against my chest.

_She makes it so easy to love her..._

"Lucy! Lucy!" My babies suddenly started repeating her name as they flew around her, making her laugh nervously.

'Okay, they really like you.' I said, feeling my chest reverberate with a short but deep laugh, before turning serious and pushing her away from me and gripping her tightly by the shoulders so she looked into my face.

'Anyway cosplayer, why the fuck were your laces undone? You know how close that freaking thing was? I'm going to be stapling your freaking shoes to your feet if you're not careful from now on, got it?' She pouted at me and glared slightly as my babies laughed and giggled, repeating her name over and over as I chewed her out for not tying her shoes properly, when the rest of my team and Laxus burst through the clearing to see what had happened.

_Flashback Ends_

* * *

I groaned and cracked open my eyes, hearing Laxus's snoring reverberating around the room like a fucking chainsaw.

I forced myself to sit up and stagger towards the bathroom, shutting the door as I flicked on the electric light and pulled off my mask.

My babies had silently followed me, and hovered beside me as I stared into the mirror at my eyes.

_"I like your eyes!"_

Her voice echoed in my mind as I stared at the eyes that had cost me so much, forcing my Figure Eyes to the fore, I looked into the luminous green irises that had hurt people, had controlled them, and wondered to myself what she thought was so nice about these eyes.

I felt my babies nudge against me, breaking me from my depressive thoughts.

I sighed deeply, before exiting the bathroom to go and stare at the starlit sky.

'Be careful cosplayer. Something's not right, I can feel it. Just wait till I get there.' I whispered, the moons rays lighting up the dark streets below in a pale glow that made the shadows seem to have forms.

_Don't get into trouble till I can bail you out. Please..._

**Unknown POV**

Finally, the dragon slayer was asleep!

_Now,_ I can make my move _now!_


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N:** OKAY, SQUEAMISH PEOPLE DO NOT READ! Otherwise, please don't kill me! ;) :) MWAHAHAHHAHAHAAAAAAAA! XD

* * *

**Laxus's POV**

The next morning me and Bix didn't need to have a conversation or plan anything.

As soon as we'd eaten, we immediately left to walk along the road that leads to Onibus. I knew this was the route blondie had been planning to take thanks to Gramps dropping none-too subtle hints about her mission.

I normally would leave it well alone, but I had a horrible feeling deep in my stomach that was telling me something was up.

I glanced across at Bix, and saw his face contorted in a pained and anxious expression I'd never seen before. He was striding along slightly ahead of me, his worry for blondie forcing him to go faster, and his babies had flown ahead and were now zipping in and out of the trees on either side of the road.

'Calm down Bix.' I muttered, staring at the metal grate mask he'd worn since last night.

I'd never been nervous around Bix with his Figure Eyes, even now when he had little control because of his raging emotions, but he'd become used to showing his eyes, and his tattoo to everyone.

That he was forcing himself to wear that piece of scrap metal to cover his eyes just went to show how much he loved blondie, and how much he worried about her.

_Come on Laxus. Quit it with the weak thinking. You've gotta be the level headed one here, seeing how Bix is already over the edge, you need to hold back. For her._ I clenched my jaw as I suppressed my own worry for her.

'Laxus... I can't... I just... Fuck, something's wrong! I don't know what, but I just _know_, in my freaking guts that something's _not right_.' His fists were clenched at his sides as he stared down the empty dusty road, searching for the familiar blonde we'd both come to love.

Sure, I told Bix I might not love her in the same way as him, and sure, I love blondie as a guild mate; as a sister in some ways. But I knew I loved her much more than that.

Even after our agreement at the Konzern, I forced myself to hold back. I know she forgave me for all that I'd done to her and the guild, but I hadn't forgiven myself, and I felt that I never would. It's because of that, that I decided I wasn't good enough for her.

The only person I would accept losing to was Bix, I knew he loved her just as much as me. Also, if they did get together I'd still get to see her every day, and it wouldn't be weird for me to talk to her or touch her because she was my best friends woman.

That would be enough for me; seeing her and seeing Bix happy.

You'd have to kill me to admit it, but I loved Bix like a brother. Ever since I found him wandering around with those totem dolls and covered in old dried blood, cowering in fear from his own power; I'd felt protective of him.

Blondie was the first person to get behind that final wall he'd thrown up between himself and the world, the only person to show him how to open up and show everyone the real Bix only myself, Freed and Ever had known. He wasn't a perv at all, it was just one of the walls he'd built to hide from clingy women; sure, he liked women, and yeah, he did want to see blondie's underwear that time, but I think that's because he loved her before he knew it... or he was just trying to push her away while he could... or he really was being a sick creeper.

Jeez, I don't know. I'm not some psychologist; all I knew was that Bix deserved Lucy. Far more than I ever could hope to, and just having her near me was enough.

The more I repeated it, the more it felt more real... at least that's what I kept telling myself.

'Laxus!' Bix's voice called me out of my thoughts, and I turned to look at him as he pointed down the road. Lying on the ground was Natsu, unconscious and severely beaten up along with Happy.

'Shit.' I muttered before running forward along with Bix.

As I approached Natsu, I pulled my emergency contact lacrima out of my pocket and rang Gramps.

'Helloooo Laxusss-'

'Shut it Gramps! Get Wendy and back-up here, NOW!' I interrupted his greeting, my voice and face showing my panic, as he suddenly nodded seriously and cut communications to send some of his brats our way. I rarely asked for backup, so I had a feeling he would be sending Erza, Gildarts and some of the more powerful mages, including Ever and Freed as well as Gajeel.

I knelt down beside Natsu and started checking him over for injuries, trying to identify the wounds that had stained his clothes red.

_He looks like he's been put through a shredder!_ I thought, looking at the huge amount of deep lacerations that criss-crossed his body.

Suddenly, I heard Bix's chilly voice from my right.

'Laxus.' My head snapped around to face him, and saw what he had held up.

My heart stopped, before hammering at a pace I'd never thought possible.

He held up her usually brown leather key pouch, which was dripping blood and stained dark red, her keys submerged in what I smelt now was her life blood.

***3 hours Earlier***

**No-one's POV**

It was 4am, and the birds of the forest were just awakening, along with a far more sinister being with a dark purpose.

He walked over to a sleeping bag that had a blonde head of hair poking out of the top, her body snuggled deep within the confines of the sleeping bag as she slumbered peacefully.

He knelt beside her, not sparing the snoring pink headed boy a glance as he whispered hoarsely in her ear.

'Lu-cy.' She frowned, squeezing her eyes tightly shut, before opening them and blinking wearily. A gentle smile crossed her face as she recognised the man.

'Good morning.' She muttered, stretching her arms out of the bag and sighing contentedly.

'Did you sleep well?' She asked as she climbed out of the sleeping bag to stand up. He stared at her silently, his face expressionless as he stood beside her.

She finally seemed to realise his serious expression and frowned in confusion.

'Hey, are you alright?' She asked, her hand making an instinctive move to caress her keys, but it was caught in a tight grip.

She squeaked in surprise and pain as his hand tightened on her pale wrist.

'W-What's going on?' She stuttered out, her face a picture of fear and confusion as she stared into her captors eyes.

'My Master requires your presence, Miss Heartfilia.' His cold voice held no hint of emotion, and his blue eyes seemed to ice over her skin as she tried to jerk out of his grip in a panic.

'What? Xavier what are you talking about?' Her eyes showed her confusion and resolve. She slowly widened her stance so she was more solid on the ground, but he noticed her movement and reacted instantly.

A knife was in his hands, and he began by cutting away her key pouch, allowing it to fall to the floor while the blade sunk into her side. She drew in a sharp breath in shock as her blood slowly spread across her white top like a crimson flower blooming in the snow, before he removed the blade and a torrent of the scarlet liquid poured from the wound over her keys and pouch.

Her eyes widened in shock as she looked down at the wound, before she began to collapse forwards, only to be caught in her attacker's arms as he smirked.

'Don't worry, you shan't die yet; we still have a use for you.' She clutched onto his arms, her nails digging into his skin in her final attempt to hurt him before she gave into the darkness that was pressing against her, as she coughed up some of her own blood.

'Luce, what's that smell?' A tired voice yawned from behind her. She pushed herself upwards and turned bleary, pain filled eyes to look at her partner and friend.

'Nat...su... help...' She coughed again, blood splattering out of her open mouth as she finally slipped into unconsciousness.

Natsu had stood and was staring in horror and shock at his friend as blood dripped from her chin and escaped in an unhindered flow from her midriff.

'LUCE!' He screamed out in anger as his eyes locked onto the grinning blonde man they had been asked to protect, who he was now going to kill.

He screamed out his anger and fury as he flew forwards with a flaming fist aimed at the man's smug, grinning face.

He dropped the celestial mage to the floor as he stepped away to fight Natsu, who's eyes were glowing red with an animalistic hunger for blood.

'Lushy!' Happy was beside his friend and gently pushed her over onto her back. He saw her keys lying in her blood and felt vomit rising up his throat, before he managed to suppress it and reached out to grab the wet pouch.

Before his paw could make contact however, a booted foot slammed into him, kicking him back and out of the forest to skid along the dirt road.

'HAPPY!' Natsu's voice echoed in the forest, and all other animals went silent at the furious roar that reminded them of an angered dragon of old.

'Quit with your bellowing Natsu. It's aggravating.' The man said, raising an eyebrow as he scowled down at the furious and flaming dragon slayer.

'You... shall... die.' Natsu's voice was almost a whisper as his skin became covered in dark red scales, and his flames burst into a fiercely bright light.

'At least your volume has decreased; such a shame you're still spouting pathetic platitudes.' The blonde smirked as he spoke, his voice filled with hatred and disgust.

Before Natsu could begin an attack however, the man raised a hand and moved his lips in a silent spell.

Suddenly, Natsu was lifted into the air, his arms seemingly held to his sides with invisible chains as he snarled and struggled against the spell.

'Now I do hate to disappoint, but I must take little Lucy Heartfilia away, you see she is part of an important plan for my Master. If you survive dragon slayer, I shall fight you once again.' Natsu roared out his anger and frustration, his heart breaking at the thought of his Lucy being anywhere near this guy. He'd known from the start this guy was weird, he'd sensed something wasn't right.

_'Natsu, there is one thing us dragons rely on more than anything else, more than power or magic or food. It's our gut instincts about people. Never ignore those feelings, you may live to regret it.'_ Igneel's voice echoed in Natsu's mind at that moment, and he felt tears evaporate from his eyes from the heat his body exuded as he felt regret set deeply within his bones.

'NO! TAKE ME! LEAVE HER ALONE!' He shouted, thrashing against his unseen restraints with a renewed vigour as the man laughed as though he was amused by something a stupid child had said.

'Don't be ridiculous Natsu. Why would I take you when it's her who is more powerful, more _useful_ than you could ever be?' Natsu froze, his eyes wide as he stared at the man before him, whose character had completely changed from what he'd seen the day before.

'Don't you dare hurt her. Don't you fucking dare-'

'Too late for that idiot. Last I checked a knife in the gut counts as harm, but what are you going to do about it? You'll be the one screaming in pain next, and those are the only screams I want to hear from you from now on, Natsu Dragneel, Salamander of Fairy Tail. Good bye. Say hello to Lucy for me when she joins you in the afterlife once her use is fulfilled.' Natsu roared once again, not noticing the man whispering beneath his breath once more.

The only signs he had that the spell had changed was when he felt the pain smash into his body.

His screams of anger, rage and frustration were immediately transformed into cries of suffering and pain as invisible blades repeatedly slashed against his body, blood spraying from his wounds like a crimson fountain, staining the dusty ground red.

His screams gradually quieted, before he slumped forwards and was dropped to the ground beside an unconscious Happy.

His breathing was weak and ragged, and he didn't make a sound as a booted foot kicked him over so he lay on his back. Sightless eyes stared up at the blonde mage as he squatted beside Natsu.

'The Master of Soul Savage sends his regards. If you survive, ensure Makarov hears our name from your half-dead lips, and watch as true fear settles across your _brilliant_ leaders face.'

***Present Time***

**Unknown POV**

I clutched the burnt box to my chest, stroking the carving that was beneath my fingers as I stared at the door.

It opened, finally, and in walked that mage... what was his name? Ah yes, Xavier, dragging along my prize behind him by the rope binding her hands.

I scowled as I noticed the blood leaking from her side.

'Xavier! Why is she bleeding?' The mage I'd sent on this undercover mission bowed hastily, apologising as he stared at the ground.

'I apologise Master. I was forced to harm her to ensure she didn't use her magic.' I scoffed, waving my hand at him as I gestured to look behind him.

'Shut up you idiot, can't you see you're staining the floor? It might be tile, but blood of light mages is hard to get out. Bind that wound before more of her disgusting blood leaks on my floor.' I scowled; glaring at the offending liquid as my mage hastily took off his shirt to tighten it around the woman's injury.

'Don't allow her to die yet either. I still need her to destroy that annoying guild once and for all.' He bowed and nodded as he dragged the woman back out of my room to the cells.

'Oh, and don't feed it. Devil knows what contaminants might spread should her clean hands touch my food.' My face lifted into a sneer at the thought of those un-bloodied limbs coming near the sustenance I required to eat.

As the doors closed, I felt a cackle boiling up in my throat, and couldn't help but let it out to echo in the empty room.

'Finally, it has truly begun... Fairy Tail, shall _fall_.'


	39. Chapter 39

**Bickslow's POV**

I didn't even register the frantic walk back to our hotel, Laxus carrying Natsu and Happy while I cradled her keys tightly in my hands.

As soon as I saw them, covered in... I can't even think about it. Something inside me just... died.

I hadn't felt like this since I'd watched my brothers murdered in front of me, and all I'd seen was her keys lying on the ground covered in red.

When we entered our room, I went straight to the bathroom to wash off her pouch and keys, scrubbing and scrubbing till they shone as though they were just created. I gently placed them on the unit, and turned to scrub my already clean hands till they were red raw.

Once again, I couldn't get rid of the image of her blood covering my hands out of my mind... my body was trembling and I gasped for air as I tried to force myself to stop imagining the worst... only to imagine things that she may be suffering through right now, alive.

_I should have come last night! I knew something was wrong! This is all my god damned fault! You say you fucking love her Bix, but you can't even fucking protect her! You bastard! Whoever did this will die by their own hands, and I will laugh as they do so... Lucy... fuck!_

I let out a shout and punched the wall, smashing through the white wall tile and into the wall cavity. I yanked my fist out and watched as my blood dribbled down my wrist to drip into the sink that was filled with soapy water.

A bead of blood gathered along my knuckles, slowly getting bigger as I clenched my fist tightly, watching the crimson liquid get darker as more blood accumulated, before the weight became too much and it fell towards the water. As soon as it hit the clear liquid, it dissipated in a spiders web of red, before disappearing without a trace.

I shut my eyes tightly, lifting my head and yanking off my mask, throwing it to the ground as tears streamed down my face.

My babies had been sitting silently beside her keys, surrounding them like a guard.

I forced myself to open my eyes, and stared blankly at the ceiling, before turning and picking up the pouch and walking back into the room.

Laxus had laid Natsu out on a bed, and was bathing his wounds with a rag. I watched as the piece of cloth scraped across the deep open gashes that covered his body, but he didn't even flinch. His body had completely shut down from pain.

He'd be permanently scarred. Happy had a few broken ribs and a slight concussion, but Natsu was close to death.

I sat down, watching Laxus wipe away the blood and bind the wounds with some bandages and ripped up shirts when he ran out, which was very quickly.

'Laxus.' I muttered, lifting a cloth so I could begin cleaning his other wounds. I sensed my friend look up at me rather than saw it; I was too empty, too far into my own grief and despair to look at him.

'I'm going to kill the bastard who did this.' I whispered, my voice taking on a deathly edge, but I ignored it.

'Tch. Only if I don't get to him first.' Laxus spat out, his lightning sparking angrily around the room, causing the lights to flicker before he managed to rein it in.

I took a deep, shaky breath before speaking again in a low whisper.

'Please... tell me she's alright. Tell me she's alive. I just... need to hear it... from someone else... before I go insane...' I could feel my heart breaking up as my body shook in anger and pain at the thought of her _just not being._

'Bix, shut your fucking mouth. Of course she's fucking alright, we bloody well trained her for a reason. Besides, if she's not alive I'll fucking drag her back and kill her myself.' He growled out, his dragon instincts flaring up once again. I barked out a short laugh which held no humour behind it.

'I hear you. Arigato... I needed you to say it.' I whispered, my voice cracking against my will. Silently, we cleaned Natsu up as best we could.

Without Wendy, there was nothing else we could do. There was no point in getting a normal doctor, they would just do the same as us and tell us to pray; hopefully they would arrive soon.

'Laxus... did you catch a scent?' I asked, clenching my teeth tightly as I forced myself to think about Lucy's captor.

'No. There was some sort of strange magic cloaking it; couldn't get a whiff of the bastard.' Laxus clenched his fist tightly around the bloodied rag as he squeezed it out over a bowl of bloody water. I sighed and closed my eyes, blocking out the image of the blood dripping from the soaked material.

'All we can do is wait for the others to arrive this afternoon, and ask Natsu what happened. If he lives that long.' Laxus's voice had quieted to a whisper as he said that, and I opened my eyes to look down at Natsu. Sure, he was annoying as hell, always challenging Laxus to a fight, or me, or Freed; but he was a member of Fairy Tail, and at the end of the day was a member of our mismatched family.

Just imagining the guild without him in it was just too... quiet. The spark that was Natsu would be gone, plus cosplayer would be sad. He was like a brother to her, her best friend. If he died, she'd feel responsible if I knew her.

I stared at Natsu's chest as he wheezed in a painful breath, his chest raising slightly as his lungs expanded, before he let out the air with a silent gasp of pain.

'He'd better not die.' I choked out, looking up as Laxus chuckled slightly.

'I know what you mean Bix. Let's hope they get here soon.' I nodded and gripped onto Lucy's keys before walking over to the window, staring out at the busy streets below as people laughed and joked, walking along happily; completely unaware of the pain, guilt and fear that hung like a smog in the room.

I ground my teeth together, jealousy rising up within me as I looked on and saw their carefree happiness. It made me _sick_. Just above them someone was on the verge of death, fighting for his life, and the one woman who made me feel almost human was severely injured and _not here_.

I glared out of the window; my hand tightening around her keys as I forced my eyes shut and remembered her.

Her smile that lit up a room and made me want to smile with her; her voice that echoed in my mind, her laugh that made the darkness and guilt around my heart disappear. Her light touches that made my skin tingle as though a bolt of electricity had shot through my body, her kindness that radiated off of her and made people want to come as close as they could to her, just to get a small sample of that pure nicety, which became more and more addictive the longer you were with her.

_Mavis help the bastard that hurt her, because he's going to regret breathing once I'm done with him._

Suddenly, a shot of gold sparking blue light crackled behind me and an angry yell ripped through the air.

I spun round to see one of her spirits standing there and searching around him, his eyes dulling when he realised she wasn't here, before filling with panic.

'WHERE IS SHE?' He screamed; his red hair burning with orange flames and feathers appearing around his forehead as his nails extended into claws.

'We don't know.' Laxus said, refusing to look up from his vigil over Natsu. Nick's head snapped round to stare at me, his eyes showing his pain and fear. He looked down to see my hand clutching her keys, and his eyes widened as he stepped forwards, before snatching the keys from me; his flames dying out immediately. I allowed him to hold them, watching as he stroked the leather pouch, his nose wrinkling before he ran to the toilet.

I exchanged glances with Laxus as we heard him vomiting.

'You can still smell it; can't you?' I whispered, and watched as Laxus nodded his head slowly before running a shaking hand through his hair.

I leant against the wall and slowly sank to sit on the floor, my hands covering my head as I rested against my knees.

I heard Nick walk out of the bathroom, and slowly looked up with dry eyes. I'd exhausted my tears long ago.

'She's hurt, badly. I can feel the pain. Right here.' He spoke almost robotically as he placed a hand over his left stomach, gently soothing the spot before talking again.

'I can feel where the knife pierced her skin; she's losing blood still... if I don't get there soon she'll...' He broke off, his voice croaking to a halt, but we knew what he was going to say.

My babies let out a pained squeal before flying over to me and hiding beneath my jacket to cry silently.

'Can't you go to her?' Laxus snapped out, turning to face us with pain filled eyes.

'Do you think I'd be _here _if I could get to her?!' Nick spat out, his voice laced with venom as he lashed out at Laxus, his tears teetering on the edges of his eyes.

'Whoever has her has blocked her location from the spirit world somehow. Don't ask me how, cause I don't fucking know. All I know is she's dying and if we don't get there soon it'll be _too late_!' Nick ended up shouting as his tears finally spilled over his cheeks and dripped from his face, his hands clinging tightly to her key pouch. He dropped to the floor on his knees and screamed out his sorrow as we watched on in shock.

_It'll be too late! It'll be too late... too late... too late..._

The words reverberated through my mind, stabbing and breaking my heart as the seriousness of the situation smacked me with full force.

_"Hey Bix! What d'you want for dinner later?"_

No... she couldn't die...

_"Bix! Wakey-wakey! It's time for training!"_

I needed her... without her I was just...

_"Bickslow! Stop teasing Ever and help me get some firewood you big weirdo!"_

No... No! I won't let her go... she can't leave me alone...

_"Bix, why d'you hide your true self from everyone? I love you for you, and so would everyone else, if you gave them the chance ya know."_

Without her I was nothing... without her I was a murderer, I was scum!

_"Bix, why'd you even still feel bad about that? What you did was justified! So quit being a baby and see what I see in you!"_

She was my forgiveness... my salvation... the only woman I'd ever loved... trusted...

_"Bix, let's go to Akane Resort with the others after we get home, yeah? It'll be fun!"_

'Lucy...' I heard my voice whisper as I too dropped to the ground on my knees once again and stared down at my hands that were covered in blood... dripping in it. I watched on terrified as it soaked into the floorboards, when I saw her face reflected in the crimson liquid, laughing up at me with a happy glint in her soft, caramel eyes.

I shook my head, closing my eyes as more tears flowed down my face.

'She can't die... no, no, no, no please Mavis no, don't do this... no, no, no, no!'

_Please don't leave me alone Lucy... I love you..._

**Laxus's POV**

I felt something break in my chest as I heard Nick speak the forbidden words I had refused to even think about.

I couldn't let the thought linger, or I'd lose my mind.

It was too late though; now the words were in the air and stabbing like knives at my mind, heart and body as the unavoidable images of her bloody, lifeless corpse filled my mind; tearing apart the last ropes that attached my mind to sanity and which stopped me from going on a wild rampage to find her.

I forced myself to restrain the animalistic dragon instincts that were roaring for me to go find her, to save her, to claim her as mine. I bit hard on my cheek and tasted blood as I locked those urges away in my mind and looked at Bix. He was knelt on the floor, his eyes blank with terror; a look I hadn't seen since I'd found him alone in the forest with some floating wooden dolls.

His hands shook as he stared down at them, silent tears flowing freely down his face as he rocked back and forth slightly, his body shuddering as he muttered to himself, shaking his head desperately.

I could see he was sinking into an uncontrolled abyss of pain and agony at the mere mention of the possibility of her death.

'Bickslow! Stop it. She wouldn't want to see you like this.' I spat out at him, sneering as he looked up at me with sightless eyes, before blinking and returning to a semblance of his usual self.

He nodded silently, and stood before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.

I let out a ragged sigh and clenched my fists tightly, my nails digging into my palms as the dragon tried to force its way to the fore.

'Laxus...' Nick's voice grumbled from the ground, and I turned to look at him.

My eyes met his pure red flaming irises that held a promise of death and vengeance.

'I know you both love her... but you don't love her as much as I or the rest of her spirits do. This bastard is ours. We all feel her pain, her fear, the agony of not being able to use the magic... they're blocking it off from her and filling it up somehow... she's holding up somehow, but not for much longer. The guy who's doing this... the mastermind... the planner, the man in the shadows... we see her nightmares of him. Only a vague shape, but he is ours.' I nodded sharply as the fury and anger he felt poured off his body.

Slowly he stood up and walked over to me and handing me her key pouch that reeked of her blood despite Bix washing it off.

I sat silently as Nick began to heal Natsu, watching the golden light pour from his palms.

'Where's the lion?' I asked as I watched Natsu's skin slowly knit itself together, the sinew and muscle joining together under the ministration of the light.

'Loke can't come. He's been driven almost mad from her pain that transcends to us all. He's pouring all of his magic into locating her.' I watched as Nicks light slowly dimmed before sputtering out.

'I've healed his most serious injuries. He'll survive till the dragon slayer gets here.' Nick turned to face me and nodded his head towards the keys in my hands.

'Clean them off properly. It's killing us all that we can still smell her blood on our keys.' He choked on the words as he started to step away from us.

'We have a direction for you; head north, up the mountains. She's somewhere there.'

'Thank you Nick. You can have the mastermind, but me and Bix have the bastard who hurt her.' Nick grinned darkly at me, his teeth sharp and glinting evilly.

'That's if Loke and I don't get to him first.' He disappeared straight after before I could respond, and left me to look down at Natsu, who seemed to be breathing more easily now.

I ran my fingers across the golden rough edges of her keys, feeling them buzz slightly beneath my fingers.

_"Laxus! Quit calling me that! You're blonde to you stupid dragon slayer!"_

I smiled slightly at the memory of her voice filled with her false anger.

_"Laxxuusss! You're ruining my hair!"_

I smiled sadly at the memory of the feel of her silky hair beneath my hands, and flexed my fingers unconsciously as I imagined the soft strands of gold...

_"Hurry Laxus! Dinner's going to be ready and Freed was cooking tonight! Mavis do I love his fried chicken!"_

I laughed quietly to myself at the memory. She sure loved to eat Freed's food...

_"Jeez Laxus! What was that for!? You know I hate it when you spark me!"_

I took a deep breath as her face appeared in front of my eyes for a moment, her hair ruffled slightly and her cheeks pinked as she pouted up at me with a soft glare.

'You better stay alive blondie... Bix needs you... hell, I need you...' I muttered, trailing my fingertips across her keys before taking a deep breath, trying to ignore the metallic and spicy scent of her blood that clung to her keys and pouch like a limpet to a rock.

I could hear Bix hitting the wall in the bathroom, over and over again as he mumbled to himself, trying to deny even the thought of her death from entering the realm of possibility.

I knew how he felt.

I walked over to the bathroom and opened the door, before grabbing Bix's wrist as his bloodied fist was about to meet the tiled wall once again. He resisted for a moment, before slowly turning his tortured and pain filled eyes on me.

'They'll be here soon. Fairy Tail shall avenge her pain. She will live, and we can show her captors the true meaning of Hell on Earth.' Bix closed his eyes and nodded as his babies butted against him in an attempt to support him.

'Don't let it take you Bix; she'd be sad to see it.' I whispered, staring into his dark red eyes and smiling sadly as he jerked out a nod.

I released his wrist and let it fall to his side as we both exited the room to sit and stew in our thoughts, planning on what to do when back up arrived.

**Lucy's POV**

Darkness...

I'd opened my eyes only to find myself surrounded in more darkness... but this time there was pain... emanating from my side and my wrists.

I jerked my body to find I had been shackled to a wall, and dangled by my wrists in cast iron shackles.

I shivered, my short skirt and thin shirt not enough clothing to hold back the chill of the air. My short clung to my back like a second skin, and I shivered as I noticed the ice cold water that was dribbling down the wall behind me in rivulets, soaking my clothes.

I looked down, and couldn't suppress a groan of pain as my stomach stretched around the wound that asshole Xavier had made.

_Tch! And I thought he was hot! Forget it! That guy just lost any chances with me!_ I glared at the wall before my body was wracked with another spasm of shivers. I looked up at my hands, and saw blood dribbling from my shackled wrists, and my fingers were tinged blue.

_Crap! That's bad..._ I thought, slowly moving my fingers so they were touching my palms. I winced at the pain that shot through my body as my frozen finger tips made contact with my slightly warmer palms.

I distracted myself from the pain by looking around the dank, dark cell that smelled of stagnant water and other more unsavoury smells.

_Ew. Smells like something dies in here..._ I felt vomit pushing its way up my throat, and held it back through sheer willpower.

I tried to use my magic to contact Loke, but as I reached for the reserves I held inside my body, I felt a spike of pain surge through my bones and screamed as something that locked away my magic and attacked me from the inside.

I swore, my teeth chattering and my dry lips aching painfully.

I heard someone laugh from outside my cell, and my head snapped upright to see who was there, only to see an endless darkness.

'HEY! WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU WANT?' I shouted out, gritting my teeth to stop them from chattering as I spoke. All I got in response was a cold, emotionless laughter that echoed around me and stroked against my cold skin like slime.

'YOU'LL REGRET THIS! FAIRY TAIL WILL COME FOR ME!' I heard the laughter again, but this time it had a harsher edge.

'I hope they do...' My mouth dropped open at his words and I felt my heart clench in fear at the murderous voice. I looked upwards from where the husky whisper had originated and nearly screamed as luminous red eyes glowed in the dark, their depths filled with cruel intent and evil.

The creature laughed again, the malicious sounds bouncing off the walls and echoing in the darkness.

I felt my eyes widen as my heart froze in fear.

'No...' I whispered before something smashed into my head and I fell back into unconsciousness.

There was one thing I learnt from that encounter; it was that Fairy Tail was about to walk into a trap, and from the magic I sensed from the strange person who had been laughing, this was going to be a difficult fight to win.

* * *

**A/N:** Hey everyone, sorry I haven't updated for the past few days, I've had family visits, and a friends 18th Birthday, so I've been busy, and I've been in a bit of pain too, my backs being a weirdo, and my wrists have been achey, so I just didn't feel like wriint. I felt a tad better today, and had some time, so updated for you all! :)

I'll try and update more often as I usually do this week, but I still have family visiting, so I might be busy. :)

Also, please remember to write a review, they really spur me on when I feel down or have trouble with writing. Also, I love reading your ideas and opinions about my work, so comment if you want please! XD

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to writing more for you all! xx :)


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: **Okay guys, you get a good glimpse into what's happening, and a MAJOR hint into the bad guys plan!

In answer to a guest question, the "it" the bad old guy referred to at the end of chapter 38, is Lucy. Sorry I didn't make it clearer! :)

Also, I don't mind the crazy review! It was lovely, and thank you! ;) xx

Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please remember to review with opinions, reactions, ideas, questions... whatever really! :) xx

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**No-one's POV**

After Lucy had been knocked unconscious by Soul Savage's Master, she was roughly released from her shackles, limply falling to the floor and letting out a groan as one of the men who unlocked a shackle kicked her in the ribs, grinning as the cracking sound cut through the air like a knife.

The two men had masks covering their faces; only their eyes visible through a slit in the black material. They grabbed the unconscious girl under her arms and dragged her out of the cell, their way lit by a floating light orb as her legs scraped painfully along the rough stone ground.

They took her through a series of tunnels and caverns, laughing along with mages they met on the way who got in their own well aimed kicks on the blonde woman.

Finally, they reached a large cavern that had a huge stone monolith that had been carved out of the mountain. It's edges were razor sharp, and the men grinned as they pulled the girl so her hands rested in another set of shackles that were higher up the monolith than they had been in the cell. Above the immense stone structure was a hole in the top of the cavern, allowing in the freezing cold air and the sunlight from outside. Snow covered the top of the structure, and surrounded the base, its depth growing as the snow fell through the hole in thick sheets.

She groaned as her wrists once again took her whole body weight, her body unknowingly to her expressing her pain at the treatment.

The masked men cackled as they walked away, shooting evil looks behind them at the girl.

Her clothes were drenched, and her skin was ice cold. Her left side still leaked warm blood, which sketched out a bloody rivulet down her bare leg and a pool of blood stained her shirt and skirt.

Anyone would be forgiven for thinking she was dead at first glance. Her hair was limp, and hung limply around her face, knotted and dirty. Her wrists were bleeding slowly. Her body was so cold her heart had slowed the pumping of blood to her extremities in order to maintain her core body temperature to stay alive.

She shivered as snowflakes began to accumulate on her head and arms, lowering her body temperature once more.

'Hey, you!' Xavier's voice cut through the cold air as he entered the cavern and looked up at the blonde woman, before shouting at a man who leant nonchalantly against a wall picking his nose.

'Brush that snow off her and cover her with a blanket. She'll be no use to the Master dead.' The man ignored Xavier for a moment, before slowly standing and wandering down the tunnel, giving him a glare as he strode past.

'You might be the favourite for now pretty boy, but watch your back.' He hissed before leaving Xavier standing at the entrance of the cavern.

Xavier ignored the comment and walked up towards the woman, scowling down at the wound in her side which had refused to stop bleeding, despite the bandages he'd applied to it.

He glanced around him to check if he was alone, before muttering beneath his breath, his hand resting on her bloodied side.

Black light emitted from his palm and sank into her skin, making her wince before sighing and sinking as the pain lessened slightly.

Xavier quickly removed his hand, satisfied he'd stopped the worst of the bleeding, and had healed the major injuries inside her, before quickly walking away and leaving her there.

He despised light mages, especially Celestial Spirit owners, yet this girl was... odd.

He had told her a semblance of truth from his past; that he had been the son of a rich family, his parents had died, and he did have a younger brother. What he left out, was that his brother was murdered by a Celestial Mage, and that he was a magician in the ancient forgotten magic's that were believed to have been of legend.

He glared darkly at any mage who was in his way as he trudged along the corridors of their lair.

The Master would begin the ritual soon. According to him, Fairy Tail would arrive within a couple of hours to retrieve their friend, and he wanted them to watch as the ritual progressed before their eyes.

Xavier himself had no issues with Fairy Tail, but the Master had an old rivalry with Makarov, that light guilds Master, so their destruction was inevitable as far as he was concerned... though somewhere in his heart, he felt a twinge of guilt at the treatment of the blonde woman, before he quickly suppressed it and started to imagine the beauty of her blood...

**A Few Hours Ago at Fairy Tail**

**Makarov's POV**

I grinned as my lacrima rang, signalling that Laxus was calling me. I skipped over to the orb and answered the call, smirking as I waggled my eyebrows up and down as I greeted him.

'Helloooo Laxusss-' Before I could finish what I was saying, Laxus interrupted me, and I saw the panic and shock plastered across his face, along with the deep set dear he tried to hide in his eyes.

'Shut it Gramps! Get Wendy and back-up here, NOW!' I nodded as I realised the severity of whatever situation Laxus had found. Instinctively, I knew Lucy and Natsu were in trouble.

I quickly ran out of my office and searched the guild below me, identifying the mages I would be sending immediately.

Oddly enough, they were all present.

'BRATS! SHUT UP!' I yelled, quieting the rowdy guild before4 I called out the names of the mages I'd selected.

'Erza! Freed! Evergreen! Gajeel! Wendy! Gildarts! Mira! Gray! My office, NOW!' I screamed before entering my office and pacing anxiously.

The mages quickly entered behind me, their expressions deadly serious as they stood before me.

'Master, what is it?' Gildarts asked, his arms crossed across his chest as he stared at me, his black cloak hanging over his shoulders.

I stopped pacing and sighed, rubbing my hand over my head as I assessed the mages before me.

All had connections to Natsu and Lucy, and I knew that they would panic as soon as I informed them of Laxus's call and request for Wendy, implying someone was severely injured.

I sat down and linked my fingers together as I stared up at them, gesturing for them to sit.

They exchanged curious and wary glances as they sat down, Gildarts standing and leaning against the door.

'Brats, I need to you remain calm and refrain from destroying my office in a panic. Agreed?' I stared into each of their faces as they became even more gloomy and curious about what I had to say.

'Master, what's happened?' Fred asked, his jaw clenched tightly as he stared at me, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword as he fiddled with the handle in a nervous habit.

'I just a few minutes ago received a call from Laxus. I had sent him and Bickslow to Kunugi on a mission. I expected them to meet Lucy and Natsu there. Obviously, they went to search for them both. I don't know the circumstances of the call, or what has happened, however, Laxus called asking for Wendy as well as back up immediately.' I observed their faces transform into shock and worry as they realised what I'd said. Laxus had never called for backup, not even when he was a child in the guild and went on missions by himself. It just didn't happen.

'Master... do you suspect this has something to do with Lucy?' Erza asked, her voice shaking slightly as she stared at me wide eyed; her breathing slightly heavier as she held back her panic.

I looked towards Freed and Ever, seeing the strained and worried look in their faces.

'I believe that Lucy and Natsu have been harmed. I am sending you all immediately to Kunugi to help Laxus and Bickslow. Some might think this is overkill, however seeing as its Laxus calling for reinforcements, I feel this is adequate.' They all nodded, and I noticed Gray's fists clenched tightly against his legs as he tried to control the ice that had begun to cover the wooden chair he sat on.

'I'm placing Gildarts in charge of this mission, and give permission to go full force should you encounter any enemies.' I directed this at Gildarts, and watched his eyes widen slightly in surprise, before he inclined his head in acknowledgment.

Gildarts had been one of the most destructive of my mages, till I forced him to have a limiter to suppress his magic and save the guilds purse strings. By saying this, I was giving him my permission to remove that limiter and use his full power should he feel the need to do so.

'Well, go now! Wendy, rest on the train, do not perform Troia on Gajeel; I need you to be at full magical strength. We have no idea what kind of injuries you need to heal.' Gajeel grimaced, but nodded his agreement at my words, his face already tinged slightly green as Wendy hesitantly agreed.

'Good. Hurry there, the next train is leaving in five minutes, and you must be on it.' I said, my voice brooking no argument. I watched as they all hurried out of my office, following them out as they ran out of the guild and straight towards the train station.

I sighed as I watched them leave, ignoring the confused faces of the remaining guild members who looked up at me questioningly.

I hoped that my brats would be alright. For Laxus to have called for reinforcements... it was something I never would have dreamed to of happened. Yet it had.

I frowned as I entered my office, slowly closing the door and sitting myself at my desk, brooding over the possibilities of what had happened, and waiting for Laxus to contact me once again.

**Laxus's POV**

Bix had fallen into a troubled sleep around an hour ago. It was now mid-day, and I expected the others to arrive soon. It took around 6 hours for the train to get here from Kunugi, if they took the high speed train, which I damn well hoped they did.

I scraped a hand through my hair for what felt like the millionth time, and stared down at Natsu's chest as he breathed steadily.

I don't know how, but Nick had managed to heal him and come through his gate without blondie's power. I was grateful to him either way. Natsu was alive thanks to him.

I stood up, stretching out my stiff muscles as I walked over to the window, staring out at the bustling street below.

It was then that I realised I hadn't called Gramps to tell him where we were staying, and I swore as I grabbed my communication lacrima and connected with him. He answered immediately.

'Laxus! What's happened? What's going on? Have the other's arrived yet?' I could hear the worry in his voice, and saw the stress painted across his aged face.

'Gramps. I don't know what happened, Natsu hasn't woken up yet. The other's aren't here yet. I called to tell you we're staying at The Golden Gate inn on Broadstreet. As to what's going on... Natsu and Happy are healing up. They've been out cold since we found them.' I couldn't bring myself to bring up Lucy... just thinking about her made my heart ache.

'Laxus, what about Lucy?' Gramps voice was quiet as he realised I made no mention of her. I slowly closed my eyes and took a deep breath before releasing it and staring into Gramps eyes.

'She wasn't there Gramps, just her... keys and... blood.' I whispered out the last word, my throat clenching as I forced my body to hold back the dragon instincts that made me want to roar and scram and cry.

'Mavis help us.' I heard his voice crack and opened my eyes to see his emotionless face that held all his pain and worry in his eyes.

'Can you sense her magic? Did you get a trail on the perpetrator?' I shook my head, feeling the tears pricking at my eyes, but refusing to allow them to fall in front of Gramps. I had to be strong, cause he was already allowing the salt water to slip across his wrinkled cheeks.

'I sent them on the high speed train. I know Gajeel will hate it, considering I asked Wendy not to cast Troia. I assume Natsu's wounds are... severe?' I turned to look at Natsu, and wordlessly walked over, allowing the lacrima to show him the state of our fire dragon slayer.

I heard him gasp, before he muttered my name, his voice cold and serious.

'Laxus. Find out who did this, call me. I want to know those responsible for this.' I could sense Gramps magic from this end of the lacrima, and nodded seriously, staring at Natsu's bloody bandages that covered his body still.

'I'll call the group and tell them where you are. Expect them to arrive soon.' I nodded as the communication lacrima shut off, and resumed my seat beside Natsu.

'You better be okay blondie. You're making a lot of people worry right now.' I whispered, staring at Natsu's bandaged face, before pulling my sound pod over my ears and using the music to distract the dragon within me from the rampage that I was on the edge of going on.

**Gildart's POV**

I sat separately from the others; I didn't feel like sitting next to the puking dragon slayer, and wanted to think clearly.

Master must believe the enemies we were to face were strong, or at least a force to be reckoned with.

Ever since Master had asked me to wear my black cloak as a limiter to my powers, I'd never once taken it off on a job. For him to give me permission to use my full power just went to show how worried he was. With good reason.

I knew Laxus. He was far too proud to ask for backup, or any sort of help. If he was struggling with an opponent, or anything for that matter, he would rather go through it alone and wait for someone to take over from him, making it seem like a big deal that they'd interfered, when he was actually exhausted.

That he had called for backup meant there was something he fears more than his reputation and image being altered.

I frowned as I contemplated in my mind the possible things that would cause him to call us, and came up with very few reasons.

I looked up as someone came to sit opposite me, and raised an eyebrow at Titania, who sat and stared out of the window with a worried expression I'd never seen before.

'Gildarts.' She muttered in greeting without looking at me as she chewed on her lip and knotted her fingers together anxiously.

'Erza.' I acknowledged her greeting, throwing a smile her way that held no amusement behind it. We were all worried about our fellow mages.

Suddenly, my communication lacrima began to ring from beneath my cloak, and I pulled it out to see Master's grim visage in the crystal.

'Gildarts. As soon as you get t6here, go to The Golden Gate inn on Broadstreet. Wendy's needed immediately, do you understand? Go through every wall that stands in your way if you have to, you must get there quickly.' I nodded, once more shocked. He hated it when I used my Crash spell to go through walls, complaining about the paperwork and the money that was expended on repairs.

'Master! What happened? Are they okay?' Erza snatched the lacrima from my grip and held it tightly in her hands as she stared at master, her eyes filled with panic. Everyone else in our group had gone silent, looking on anxiously as they awaited Master's response.

'Natsu and Happy are injured; Natsu severely, only just alive. He needs Wendy as quickly as possible.' Erza seemed to relax only slightly before tensing up even more than before.

'Lucy?' She whispered, her voice high pitched as her worry and panic got the better of her, making her tremble slightly.

I'd never seen her like this, and I'd known her since she was a child. Never had I seen her face contorted in this fear and dread; her body shaking in order to release the pent up emotions that overwhelmed her.

'Lucy... we don't know. She was gone. Her keys were left behind and it was clear that she'd been injured.' I quickly caught the lacrima as Erza dropped it from her hands, and tried to shut out the noise of Mira crying with Wendy in her arms. Gray was grinding his fist into the seat and Gajeel swore between his bouts of sickness. Freed held Evergreen tightly as she sobbed into his jacket, her face hidden in the red fabric as Freed stared at the ceiling grimly.

_'We'll be arriving in Kunugi in five minutes. All passengers remain seated please.' _The voice over the speaker seemed to echo in the silent compartment before I spoke to Master again.

'We'll complete this mission Master.' I said, cutting off communications as he nodded in response.

I didn't know Lucy too well, but I knew she was a close friend of Cana's, and there was no way in Hell I was going to allow my daughter's friend to be harmed when I could prevent it.

I gritted my teeth and stared out of the window to see the countryside blurring past me at an astonishing speed, and had to consciously restrain my magic as my fists tightened.

I might not know Lucy very well, but I knew Natsu like a son. That he was on the brink of death just went to show how strong our opponent was. Natsu would rather die than allow one of his family to be taken, yet somehow he was beaten, and his partner was kidnapped while sustaining an injury; and from the way Master said it, it wasn't a simple scratch.

I looked at Erza to see her face emotionless and cold as she stared down at the ground, in a state of shock, before her eyes lit up in anger.

I looked around to see similar expressions on all of my guild mates faces.

Whoever had done this was going to have to defeat the strongest, and angriest mages of Fairy Tail.

I almost felt sorry for the bastards.

**Lucy's POV**

Slowly I opened my eyes, the pain forcing me awake as my body was wracked with shivers.

My skin felt clammy, and I couldn't stop my body from shaking, making the shackles at my wrists scrape my already bleeding and raw skin, but I couldn't stop shaking.

I noticed someone had draped a blanket around me, but my wet, cold clothes clung to my body, and the wound in my side was still bleeding slightly, though the pain was remarkably less than it had been before.

I saw beneath my feet was snow, and noticed the frozen water droplets falling in front of my face like soft white cotton wool. It was colder here, and lighter too.

I looked up to see a short, hunched over figure below me, his hands clutching a familiar burned box.

I gasped in shock, before my body spasmed from the cold once more.

'W-w-w-w-who are y-y-y-you?' I asked, my teeth chattering involuntarily and causing my words to come out unsure and stutter.

The person cackled as he stroked a wrinkled, bony hand across my box.

'I'm the Master of the guild which shall destroy Fairy Tail; or at least, the person who will instrument your destruction of Fairy Tail.' I felt my eyes widen as he cackled once more and glared as I jerked against my restraints, the blanket falling from my shoulders into the pile of snow below me.

It only surrounded me, and I glance dup to see a hole in the roof of a massive cavern that was directly above me.

'I would NEVER help the likes of you!' I shouted out, somehow managing to stop my teeth from chattering as anger surged through my body.

'That's where you're wrong my child.' He muttered, his voice cold as he clicked open my box, rifling through the ashes and bringing them close to his face, before smelling the ashes.

My face must have been one of extreme disgust, as he laughed that evil sound once more, before sitting on a carved stone chair and crossing his legs, placing the box on the arm of the chair after dropping the ashes of my letters in it.

'I shall explain my plan to you, seeing as you are the key component to the destruction. In one hour, your friends shall arrive here, and they shall witness the ritual that I shall perform that will enable you to destroy the guild you love _so much_.' I heard the venom in his voice as he spat out the last two words, and shuddered from fear, before glaring at him once more.

_"Never show your enemy fear blondie; gives the sickos a kick."_ I recalled Laxus's words, and felt my lips twitch slightly into a smile. This guy was definitely my definition of a "sicko".

'Well, I'll skip the boring parts. I know from certain sources that you gained a lot of magic from Tenrou Islands magical supply. I know you went there to get rid of that extra magic, but only succeeded in gaining more. I believe it was described to you as you being a "magnet" for the magic of the isle, correct?' My jaw went slack in astonishment.

_How could he know that?!_ I saw his grin from beneath the darkness of his hood; Ever had jokingly described me as such one evening during meal time.

'As I said, I have my sources. You do not have a traitor, I'm just a genius.' I narrowed my eyes at him as his smug voice grated on my nerves.

'Well, let's say that your little friend was correct in calling you such; you _are _a magnet for the magic of Tenrou...' I frowned in confusion, before my eyes widened as I realised what he meant. I couldn't hide my fear as I shook my head and renewed my struggled against the unmoving shackles that held me against the freezing stone.

I froze as I heard him cackle. It was then that I noticed mages who's faces were covered in black masks drawing a huge magic circle on the ground surrounding the obelisk I was attached to.

_Mavis help us!_ I thought, desperately sending a prayer to the heavens as I tried once more to gain access to my magic, only to find it still locked away from me. I screamed in agony at the pain that shot through my body.

'Don't bother girl. I used the power I gained from your memories in this box to seal away your magic. It's amazing how much power and control I gain from your letters to your beloved _dead_ mother. It allows me to control your body and seal away your pesky magic, as well as your spirits.' I stared at him in shock as a wrinkled hand lifted from the depths of his cloak, a finger pointed towards me. Suddenly, my legs were spread apart and pinned against the edges of the rock. I cried out as the sharp corners dug into my skin, unable to resist the invisible force that pushed my legs deeper into the rock.

'Ah, I love the power you give me. It's a shame you won't be around much longer to give me more...' He retreated, allowing my freshly bleeding body to relax, my sobs echoing in the silent cavern as he walked away, my box held under his arm.

_Someone... help... keep them... away..._


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! REGARDING WHOLE ENDING OF STUFF AND POLL! SO READ! NOW! :P**

Okay, so I closed the poll on who Lucy should end up with... and I am going to admit to not following it... SORRY, but listen now, listen, LISTEN! It kind of developed in it's own way, no matter how much I tried to keep it neutral, so SORRYYY!

**ANYWAY! HERE'S THE IMPORTANT BIT! XD**

I've put up a NEW POLL I SWEAR TO KAMI I WILL FOLLOW!

Basically, I have **two ending's** I **could** use, so I'm leaving it up to you guys to decide which way to go.

You can vote for an EVIL ENDING which you will hate me for, then love me for, and it will be super interesting and amazing and just great cause I've thought it out and everything.

OR you can vote for the HAPPY ENDING hwere it's a bit less dramatic, and you won't hate me much, and will still hopefully like it, but I will have to plan this one out better, cause my idea is still rough round the edges!

EITHER WAY, THIS POLL WILL BE DOWN VERY SOON, CAUSE I'M PLANNING TO FINISH THIS STORY IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS/WEEK, SO VOTE QUICKLY! IT IS ON MY PROFILE, AND I'M ONLY ACCEPTING THE VOTES, NOT REVIEWS WITH COMMANDS (except from guest users who can't vote, I think... :/)

SO GO VOTE AS SOON AS YOU'VE FINISHED THIS CHAPTER! QUICKLY! ;)

NOW ENJOY! :) xxxxxxx

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**Bickslow's POV**

I slowly woke up, rubbing my eyes before yawning and stretching out my back, satisfied as my spine clicked slightly.

'They not here yet?' I asked Laxus as I looked around the empty room for any other members of the guild.

'They'll be here soon. I can already smell the metal head.' Laxus turned away from the window and walked over to the bed to sit down beside Natsu on the arm chair he'd claimed as his.

I sighed; running a hand through my hair as my babies slowly woke up from beside me, and slowly hovered in the air.

I stood up, walking into the bathroom to retrieve my mask from the ground, before sliding it on my face. I blinked rapidly, trying to get used to the metal bars that imprisoned my eyes once more, and walked into the room to meet Laxus's questioning gaze.

'I'll go down to the lobby to meet them... prepare them too.' I muttered, looking towards Natsu's sleeping form that was covered in bloodied bandages.

Laxus nodded his agreement with my plan as he began to undress some of the worst wounds of Natsu's to wash them again and re-bandage them.

I grabbed our room key and exited, walking down the narrow, badly lit corridor to the staircase that led to the lobby of the inn.

My babies hovered silently beside me, their depression mirroring my own at Cosplayer's disappearance.

When I reached the lobby, I leant against the wall beside the staircase that was opposite the entrance; they would see me immediately upon entering.

I didn't have to wait long before I saw the group of familiar faces enter. They strode towards me, Gildarts leading the way, before Erza shoved past and grabbed onto my coat lapels.

'Tell us what happened right now.' She murmured, her demonic aura only beaten by that which Mira emanated from behind her.

I didn't even flinch, only waited till I was released from Erza's tight grip by Gildarts command.

'We'll talk upstairs. Wendy needs to heal Natsu... now.' I whispered, my voice hoarse from my nap and from the emotions I kept locked away.

I saw Freed and Ever shoot a worried look my way, their eyes drawn to the mask I'd taken to not wearing, but I ignored that and began to lead the group up to our room.

As we reached the door I hesitated before opening it.

'Listen, don't be shocked. Natsu's in a worse state than he's ever been in... that Phoenix spirit somehow came out and managed to heal the worst internal injuries, but he's still bleeding... a lot. So just... don't panic. He's better now than he was earlier.' Gray and Erza's faces paled slightly, and I saw Gildarts take a deep breath before clenching his jaw tightly and nodding.

I opened the door and led the troop inside, taking my seat beside Natsu as my babies hovered by his head, peering down at him.

Despite my warning, I heard Gray swearing in surprise and Erza gag slightly. Wendy tried to hold back a sob while Mira ran straight to Natsu and gently pulled one of his hands in between hers. Gildarts however just took a sharp breath as he looked down at the heavily bandaged boy, before he turned and walked to stare out the window as Wendy began to heal him up. Gajeel stood still in the doorway as he stared at our guild mate, before he blinked his way out of his stupor and shut the door. He walked across the room to sink into a chair in the corner, and absentmindedly began to eat the metal decorative bowl that was on the side unit beside him.

'What happened?' Ever's voice whispered in shock as she rested against Freed for support, before he guided her to sit on another chair.

'Honestly, we have no idea. We went to find blondie and Natsu, and all we found was him... and these.' Laxus pulled out her key pouch, and both Wendy and Gajeel's heads snapped up as they smelt her blood.

Wendy began to sob all over again, before forcing herself to pay attention to her healing, though tears streamed down her face as she noticeably began to breathe through her mouth.

Gajeel choked on the metal he was eating and strode towards Laxus, grabbing her keys and running to the bathroom. I heard the taps go on, and answered the other's confused and questioning faces.

'They can still smell it... I washed them already... but they can smell her blood still-' I broke off and took a long intake of air to calm my nerves, clenching my shaking hands into tight fists.

'Whoever hurt her is going to die.' Gray whispered, his ice spreading across the wall he was leaning against, before he managed to calm down.

'Get in line stripper.' A weak voice said from behind me, and my head snapped around to see Natsu's eyes wide open, filled with hatred and pain as he looked around to see us all before him.

**Natsu's POV**

I was trapped in darkness... and pain... so much fucking PAIN!

My eye's felt like they were nailed shut, and someone had poured sand over my eyeballs before nailing them closed with a freaking nail gun.

Every inch of my body ached and stung, as though I had a million giant sized paper cuts and had been thrown into the ocean afterwards, then a barrel of bleach.

Slowly, I became more aware of the pain, and managed to push it back from the front of my mind so it became a dull ache that freaking hurt every time I thought about moving.

Gradually, I became conscious of voices around me, and forced myself to concentrate on what was being said, my ears functioning before my eyes opened fully to see I was in a large bed with Wendy crying as she healed me, Laxus to one side and Bickslow sitting on the other, while Mira knelt on the ground holding my bandaged hand... wait, every part of me was bandaged!

What the hell- ah. Xavier, that fucking bastard!

'Whoever hurt her is going to die.' I heard Gray's familiar voice whisper from somewhere in the room, and somehow managed to speak up.

'Get in line stripper.' I sounded so fucking pathetic as they all turned to look at me, and more people rushed to the bedside to peer down at me.

I tried to smile as I recognised Freed, Evergreen, Erza and Gildarts appear, and then Gajeel poked his head over the top of everyone else's, his face solemn as he stared down at me.

'Nice to see you flame brain, finally awake?' Gray smirked as I winced when I tried to move to punch him.

'Natsu-san! Stay still! I haven't finished healing you!' Wendy snapped, sending me a glare that Luce and Erza would be proud of... wait, LUCE!

'Where's Luce? Have you found her? Where's that fucking asshole, I'm gonna fucking murder him!' I ignored Wendy's angry huff as I shot upright in the bed, feeling a warm sticky liquid leak from my side before I was shoved back down by Laxus who scowled down at me.

'Shut up idiot. We need you to tell us what happened and who did this. We need to go get Lucy now, you understand? She was hurt.' It was then that the memory of what happened came back to me as clear as day.

_'Nat...su... help...' She coughed out my name as I sat stock still in shock, blood splattering out of her mouth as she collapsed to the floor._

_I stood slowly, my heart beating faster and faster as what was happening before my eyes finally sank in. I felt my eyes widen in horror as her metallic, spicy smelling blood dripped from her chin and flowed from her stomach, her hand covering the wound as she desperately tried to slow the flow of her life from draining into the dirt._

_I began to hyperventilate slightly as I realised who had done it and felt my anger and fear burst out of my body like an erupting volcano._

_'LUCE!'_

'NATSU!' I snapped out of my memory and turned to look at Bickslow whose masked face was inches away from mine as he shouted at me.

'We need you to tell us what happened.' I nodded slowly, realising Wendy had got most of my healing done while I was stuck in memory land, though she was exhausted, and was sweating heavily as she panted.

I closed my eyes painfully as the memories assaulted me.

'The guy we were supposed to be escorting did it. Obviously, it was a trap. Mavis knows how the bastard set it up, but it was all a trap. It was early morning, and I woke up to see that bastard grinning as she fell to the floor with blood pouring out of her side... she was unconscious from pain, and I couldn't do fuck all to help her... I was fucking useless... I couldn't even get close to the bastard! He has some weird ass magic that traps you in these invisible ropes, and then cuts you up like a slice of meat on a hog roast! I couldn't do anything to protect her... so fucking weak...' I stopped talking as I breathed in and out to steady my rapidly beating heart and rising temper.

'He was gloating as he had me trussed up in his fucking spell... said I would be meeting Luce soon enough when they were finished with her... when she was past her usefulness. I begged him to... to take me, leave her alone... but he just said I wasn't powerful enough, or useful in their plan.' I suddenly remembered what he'd whispered to me before I sank into the darkness, and my eyes opened up.

'I need to speak to Gramps. He knows who these guys are.' Wordlessly, Laxus handed me a lacrima, and I focused on that rather than the pain-filled faces that surrounded me, forcing my body to sit upright and ignoring the glare Wendy shot at me.

'Laxus what's wrong- NATSU! Are you alright?!' I nodded at Gramps question before I interrupted him before he could ask any more.

'Gramps, before I passed out, the guy said to tell you something. He said the Master of Soul Savage sends his regards. Who are they Gramps? I know you know.' I watched as Master's face paled and his mouth opened and closed, before he clenched his jaw and took a deep, shaky breath.

'Soul Savage... is an ancient Dark Guild. They were the most prominent guild in history when Fairy Tail was first Created.' We turned to see Master Mavis floating behind Bickslow, and she hovered forwards to fly over my bed, before crossing her legs and sitting at my feet.

'The reason I created Fairy Tail was to combat the evil Soul Savage spread across the country. My goal was passed down to the second Master, and it was during his time when Makarov Dreyar succeeded in taking out the guild Master. It disbanded and all mention of them was whipped from history so another dark guild couldn't follow in their footsteps. After that, Fairy Tail became a guild of peace. Murder or killing became taboo for our members; the weight of responsibility and guilt they carried from their combat with Soul Savage haunted them.' I stared at First as she seriously looked around to each of us, I could tell we all hung on her every word.

'If they were all whipped out, how come they're back? And what do they want with Lucy-sama?' Freed's cold voice cut through the air, and First turned to face him sadly.

'I don't know. All I know is that any members who have been overlooked, would be highly powerful, and will wish for revenge on Fairy Tail. What better way than using Fairy Tail's light to destroy them?' Mavis whispered the last question, and I felt my heart grow still as her words set in.

_Luce... don't worry, I'll save you._

**Lucy's POV**

I slowly opened my eyes, shivering as I slowly looked up to see my blue hands peeking out from the cuffs, and winced in pain as I tried to move them.

_Frost bite... where the fuck am I? Why is it always cold places anyway?_ I thought, forcing myself to move my fingers and hold back my cries of pain.

I'd already discovered how those bastards drawing that massive magic circle around me loved to hear my pain.

The freak with my letter box had popped in every so often, cackling before leaving.

No one had picked up the blanket that had fallen from my shoulders, and it now lay beneath a thick layer of snow.

I looked up, to see the snowflakes falling softly through the hole above me, and shook the snow that had settled on my head off, shivering violently as the freezing cold substance slowly crept down my back and rested on my shoulders.

I had tried to ease open my magic container, and had succeeded in edging off the lid while hiding the minute pain I felt at the contact with my magic.

I'd found that if I didn't try and rip open my magical container to use my power, the pain wasn't over-whelming, and I could access a small amount.

It wasn't enough to summon any spirits, but it was enough to send out a small beacon to Loke and the others about where I was. It was also enough to pump through my veins to warm my body slightly.

Hopefully, I would somehow manage to get out of this before Fairy Tail arrived and fell into the trap this crazy old _thing_ had set up.

I narrowed my eyes and peered around me, taking in the amount of mages that were in the room, and knew that my only chance was to hit hard when the creepy old guy wasn't here. I could feel his magical pressure pushing down on me, reminding me of Gildarts and Master when they were on a rampage.

I knew I didn't have much time before the others got here, judging by how fast they were scrambling to complete the circle... but there was no way for me to escape while that guy had control over me through the emotions I'd poured into the letters to my mother.

It hurt and disgusted me that he absorbed my private thoughts and feelings to supply him with power... and for him to use that power to control me... I felt violated.

I knew then, that no matter what, that guy would die by my hands...

_Please Fairy Tail... Natsu... Laxus... Bix... stay away just a little longer... please... don't come for me!_


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N: **Okay, first off, sorry, I was planning on updating yesterday, but I had a realllyyyy shitty day, so deal with it. I might update again today, but my back is still in a bit of pain, and I'm visiting the Dr's to see what the hell is wrong with it. (Thank you, cannn for asking how I am! ;) should be fine.)**  
**

Also, in response to guest reviewer cannn, no I didn't get Xavier's magic from Ito Ito No Mi, it all came from my creepy ass mind! ;) And I have no idea how much longer this is going to go on for. Hopefully, only a maximum of another ten chapters, but I have no clue at all. XD And I will look forward to your awesome-sauce reviews when you get back from your trip! ;) (P.S. Really hope you get an account so we can PM each other! You sound fun! xx)

**IMPORTANT THING FOR EVERYONE ABOUT POLL:**

The evil ending will end nicely, but it'll make you all scream before than.

ALSO THE POLL WILL COME DOWN TONIGHT OR THIS AFTERNOON, SO IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY VOTED, VOTE NOW, I WANNA START WRITING THE ENDING! ;)

On another note, I apologise to any and all readers who feel they can no longer read my story just because it isn't a LaLu, but I WILL write a LaLu at some point in the future, so keep an eye open if you want. Or not. :P

Anyway, ENJOY!

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**Lucy's POV**

The magic circle was almost complete... they would be here soon... I could feel it.

That old man had been sitting in the stone throne in front of me for the past ten minutes, grinning from beneath the hood he refused to remove.

I'd decided to ignore him, and instead focused on the plan I'd managed to come up with, focusing my entire mind power into the completion of my scheme; knitting away within my mind rather than listen to his pathetic, gloating drivel.

It was of course because of his gloating and complete confidence that he had already won that I knew his plans, and could then figure out my own plan in order to destroy him.

It wouldn't be long now. I was almost finished... but so were they.

**Ever's POV**

I shoved myself away from Freed, more angry than upset now.

'What do you mean? What are they going to use Lucy for?' I glared at First, unable to hold back my anger towards her. She was just sitting there, casually talking about Lucy and her possible death!

'Ever, calm down.' Freed whispered, trying to put his arm around me, but I was angry now, and shoved him off.

'No! Lucy's in trouble and she's just sitting there talking about a murderous, pure evil guild that has got her in their clutches! I am NOT going to calm down Freed!' I screamed, hysterical with worry and anger. I knew I wouldn't be acting like this, but Lucy was one of the few people I'd thought of as a true friend. Just the thought of her suffering made me feel sick.

'Evergreen, calm down now.' I turned to glare at Gildarts, and forced myself to take a calming breath when I met his emotionless gaze.

'You don't know her well enough to tell me that.' I whispered, shaking my head as I looked away from him.

'Evergreen, please. I know how you feel, but we need to think about how we're going to find Lucy; and how we shall punish those who harmed her.' Erza's voice grew cold, and I couldn't help but smile at her as I nodded my agreement.

Sure, I resented her for her title as the Fairy of Fairy Tail, but she was Lucy's friend, and I had gotten to know her slightly better. In this, we could agree.

'Blondie's spirits gave us a direction. They said to head north towards the mountains. Apparently they're blocking off her magic, so we don't have a concrete location just yet.' Laxus's voice interrupted my thoughts of how to castrate the men who'd harmed her, in such a way they would cry and beg for mercy at my feet, and I turned to look at First as she giggled slightly.

'I can help you there.'

'Master Mavis, how can you help us find Lucy?' Erza asked, leaning forwards on the bed and staring into Firsts face with desperation. I could tell the rest of us surrounding the bed were thinking the same thing, and mirrored her expression. Except for Gildarts, who looked slightly confused, but determined.

Master Mavis looked between me, Freed, Bix and Laxus before talking to us.

'You may want to explain to them all about Lucy's powers now.' I was bursting to scream at her, to yell and demand that she tell me what she knew about where Lucy was, but I caught Laxus's stony gaze, and forced myself to calm down.

'What powers?' Gray asked, his voice filled with confusion. Laxus sighed, running a hand through his hair before looking in to everyone's faces.

'You know how blondie disappeared on you all a few months ago, with us to go train? Well, we had to go to Tenrou. Lucy had absorbed a lot of the magic from Tenrou, which was what made it possible for her to cast that spell to find Phoenicis. We took her there in hopes that the magic would be re-absorbed into the island; it was too much for her body to handle. But instead, she just carried on absorbing more. She's managing to hold back the magic through sheer willpower, and her spirits gave her a limiter that absorbs the overflowing magic. Without it, she could die from magic overflow, or the magic will just explode and destroy everything around her. If she loses focus and can't hold back her magic, well, you get the picture.' I could feel the tears building up in my eyes, but forced them back. I looked around to see Erza had sunk to the ground, and Mira was rocking back and forth on the floor, her hands covering her eyes. Gray's fists were clenched tightly and he looked pale and seemed to shiver, while Natsu just sat in the bed in shock, his face blank and devoid of emotion though I could see the turmoil and fear in his eyes.

'Okay, now we know. How can you get us to Lucy First?' Gildarts asked, his voice strained. I turned to look at him, and saw worry in his eyes, and wondered why he cared so much about Lucy.

'Well, Lucy has a large amount of Tenrou's magic within her body. I can sense the location, and can teleport you there almost immediately. We have to hurry, she's not very well, and I can only sense a trickle of the magic, so they've probably sealed it away.' I felt my heart beat faster as panic and hope set in.

'Well what are we waiting for? We have to go get Luce now!' Natsu shouted out, throwing himself off the bed, only to be shoved back down by Wendy.

'SIT DOWN! I need to heal you or Lucy-san will be sad!' We stared in shock at the young dragon slayer as she glared at Natsu with tears trailing down her cheeks.

'All I can do is heal, I can't fight. So I need to heal you so Lucy-san doesn't get upset that you're hurt.' She whispered, the turquoise healing light emanating from her palms slowly spreading across Natsu's body.

Master Mavis smiled kindly at her, and reached out to rest her hand on her head.

'Don't worry Wendy. Lucy shall be fine.' Wendy looked into Master's emerald green eyes, and smiled hesitantly before nodding and focusing on healing a fidgeting Natsu, who froze after receiving another glare from her.

'Master. We have to leave soon, Nick came earlier and-' Bix was cut off by a pained scream and the flash of a golden light behind us.

**Gray's POV**

I turned around, ready to fight, only to see Lucy's newest spirit kneeling on the floor. I ran forwards and caught him as he fell back, his eyes wide as he panted heavily.

His skin was fiery to the touch, and he shook in my arms as he groaned from pain.

'Nick! What's wrong!? How is she? TELL ME NOW!' Laxus had appeared in front of us, and had grabbed the spirit by his shoulders and was now shaking him, his eyes feverish with panic.

Erza grabbed one of his arms and Freed grabbed the other, pulling him back as he released Nick from his grasp.

'She's... hurt... feverish... infected here...' Nick placed a shaking hand on the side of his stomach, pressing into his unmarked skin and flinching.

'Cold... so cold... frostbite... hurry, she's... hurting bad.' Nick suddenly cried out and clutched his head, curling into a ball and rolling on the ground.

'LAXUS! What is he talking about?' Ever shouted out, her horror clear on her face as the spirit cried out in agony.

'He feels her pain.' Bix spat out, stepping forward and lifting Nick from the ground before placing him on the other bed in the room. His jaw was clenched tightly, and his eyes behind his mask were a fluorescent green.

I turned and stalked across to First, who sat on the bed in shock.

'We need to go. Now.' I said, somehow managing to restrain myself from reaching out and grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her to teleport us to Lucy.

'Calm down Gray. We need a plan.' Erza said from behind me, resting her hand on my shoulder. I turned to glare at her and shook her hand off of me.

'Aren't you worried? Didn't you _hear_ him?' I asked, gesturing to Nick who lay on the bed shaking as he tried to restrain her pain.

'She could by DYING RIGHT NOW AND YOU WANT TO PLAN? Since when do you "plan" anything Erza?' I yelled, unable to hold back my anger and worry for Lucy. I watched as Erza stared at me, her face unmoving, and when I finally finished she turned away from me so I stared at her back, before she walked away and into the bathroom.

'Gray! You bastard! Of course she's worried you freaking stripper! If these guys are all as strong as that Xavier guy, we have a problem. Erza's right, we gotta plan this one out, cause Luce isn't here to do it for us!' Natsu glared at me as he yelled, Wendy also glaring daggers at me before she continued healing him.

I felt my anger fall away as I realised they spoke the truth. Erza was worried. I'd seen the tears in her eyes, and the pain that crossed her face when Nick lay on the ground screaming.

I groaned as I ran a hand through my hair, before walking across to the bathroom door to apologise.

**Bickslow's POV**

I watched Gray walk over to the door, and knock. Suddenly, it was jerked open and an armoured fist flew through the door and smacked into his face, making him fly across the room to be caught by Gildarts, before being dropped to the ground in a heap.

'NEVER SAY THAT TO ME AGAIN!' Erza screeched, her eyes practically on fire before she stalked into the room towards Nick.

'Now you listen to me, spirit of Lucy's. I need you to heal that blue Exceed beside you, and help Wendy heal Natsu, so we can save our friend, do you understand?' Erza had grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him so his face was inches from hers. He took a deep breath and nodded, before turning to heal Happy, who still hadn't woken up, and was peacefully mumbling about fish while drooling in his sleep.

I smirked as Erza stalked across to the bed where First was sitting, her demonic aura spreading like a fog across the room.

'First, as soon as Natsu is healed, we will go and get Lucy. I trust that you will be taking us to her location?' I watched First giggle, and nod her agreement to Erza's plan, before the scarlet haired mage turned to face Natsu, who seemed to cower in the bed sheets.

'Heal quickly Natsu.' She glared at him as he squeaked and nodded.

I sat down, my leg bouncing up and down in impatience.

My heart had dropped to my feet when Nick appeared like that. She must be in so much pain...

I swore to myself once again that the men who had hurt her would regret breathing. I would kill them, I don't care if Fairy Tail had a no kill policy. They would die.

Laxus slumped down on the ground beside me as we twiddled our thumbs, waiting for Wendy and Nick to finish healing Natsu. Happy had been fully healed after a few minutes of Nick throwing some gold light at him, and now we were just waiting for them to complete Natsu's healing. By the way he was complaining, he sounded fully healed, yet every time he raised his voice, Erza raised the sword she'd bee sharpening and glared at him, quieting him immediately.

Freed was searching through a book Master Mavis had given him which was about ancient magics, and he was speeding through it, searching for a spell that matched Natsu's description. Ever sat beside Erza, not talking, just staring off into the distance; the light reflecting on her glasses making it impossible to see her eyes or the emotions that they held.

Gildarts surprisingly was just as worried as everyone else, and was pacing across the room, his black cloak billowing out behind him.

After watching him pace for another five minutes, Laxus glared at him and called out.

'Hey, why are you acting so worried? You don't even know Lucy.' There was silence; even Erza had stopped sharpening her blade, and looked up with interest in Gildart's response.

He ran a hand through his red hair as he stood still and stared out the window, refusing to look at anyone as he answered.

'She's Cana's friend. I know her a little, I've heard of her, and she's a guild mate. What other reason do I need to worry? Besides, she's cute from what I've seen of her.' He turned to shoot a smirk towards Laxus and me, and his grin widened as we both scowled at him, Laxus growling low in his throat as he turned his head to look at the ground.

It was only after another five minutes of silence, Gildarts having grown bored of pacing and now sat on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling, that Natsu was finally healed.

'Please... save her.' Nick whispered, before disappearing in a splutter of golden light.

'It's time to leave brats. I can take you to outside the mountain where the dark guild has made their base. They dug inside the mountain, so expect an earth mage, as well as an illusionist maybe. Are you all ready?'

'Of course we are! We're gonna go save Luce!' Natsu shouted out, his fists clenched tightly and Happy sitting on his shoulder, wiping his eyes blearily.

'Ready when you are First.' Ever said, standing and joining the circle of people we'd begun to form with Mavis.

I exchanged a glance with Laxus, and we nodded at each other as we stood beside one another in the circle, my babies hiding under my coat getting ready to be teleported.

'Let's go. We have a friend in danger.' Gildarts muttered, grinning coldly as he anticipated the fight we would be having.

_Hold on Lucy... we're coming for you..._ I thought, as Mavis smirked and we were blinded by a bright white light, before we were dropped into a foot of snow and a howling storm at the base of a mountain.

**Lucy's POV**

My breath came out ragged. My fever had set in a while ago, and my body shook uncontrollably as the wind howled down the gap in the ceiling, swirling the snow so it slashed against my body like shards of ice. It felt like the snow was cutting into my skin with its freezing blades, and the wind was laughing at my pain.

However, I ignored this and focused solely on my plan... knitting away at the strands of magic I'd managed to sneak out of my magical container. I could sense Master Mavis's magic close by, and knew I didn't have much time.

I only hoped my plan would work, and my magic would protect both myself, and my friends.

The creepy old guy with my letters ashes was already beginning to recite the spell in an ancient, forgotten language, shouting and yelling as the other mages stood at their appointed spots on the magic circle surrounding me.

I ignored all of that though. I ignored the magical pressure change, and ignored the psycho freak in front of me laughing and screaming out in his own version of happiness.

'THEY'RE HERE! NOW THEY CAN SEE YOU DIE!' I rolled my eyes, before bringing my focus back to my plan. I had to hurry...

If I wanted to beat this bastard, I had to knit away at my plan as quickly as possible... I needed to complete it... without it, we were doomed.


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N: WARNING! Grab your Kleenex and chocolate cause I started getting teary writing this! **

In case you didn't know, the evil ending won, and it's all here. My God I hate myself for this chapter! Looking forward to immediate reaction reviews, if you guys feel like it. You might just want to murder me first, but it will all work out... :'(

I'M SORRRYYYYY!

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**No-one's POV**

The group of mages plus one blue flying cat stood up in the snow and stared at the immense mountain above them.

The snow storm swirled around them, making all except Gray and Natsu shiver slightly from the cold.

'How are we going to get in there?' Gray shouted, searching for an entrance. Gildarts grinned as he stood up, reaching the ties of his cloak that were around his neck.

He released his cloak, the material begging to be ripped from his grasp to travel with the currents of the wind, before he handed it to a confused Laxus.

'Hold this. I'll be right back.' Gildarts trudged forwards through the snow, ignoring the cold as the other mages looked after him in confusion, but both Laxus and Mira exchanged smirks; they knew about Gildarts limiter, and knew they were about to see a rare sight.

Gildarts paused at the base of the mountain, looking up at the sheer straight cliff that was before him. He lifted a hand and closed his eyes, accessing his full power for the first time in years.

"Crash" He mumbled with a smirk. Immediately, the entire mountain began to shake, Gildarts white lines of magic appearing across the entire mountain face as it cut the immense rock into tiny squares.

The group of mages behind him stared in shock as the entire front of the mountain was disassembled before their eyes, the small squared of rock disappearing as Gildarts clenched his fist and grinned, rolling his shoulders as he closed up his magic container once again.

He turned to look on the ground, and saw three mages with their faces covered, and picked up the one which was conscious.

The group had made their way up to him, and Laxus handed him his cloak before snatching the dark mage out of his fists.

'Take us to Lucy. Now.' The terrified dark mage shook in his grasp as lightning sparked all around him. Behind Laxus, Natsu was lighting up his fists and flexing his fingers as he smirked darkly at the frightened man, and Erza was giving him a glare that could make hell freeze over. On top of that, Mira was already in her Satan Soul form and glowering down at the dark mage, who's pants were suspiciously wet...

'Y-y-yes!' The man nodded, his hands clutching at Laxus's arm that held him suspended by his throat. Laxus growled at him one last time and dropped him to the snow, sneering at his soaked trousers as the man began to walk through the tunnel Gildarts had revealed when he ripped the mountain in half.

The group followed him warily, Laxus, Bix and Gildarts in front followed by Natsu and Gray, and Erza and Mira took up the rear while Wendy and Gajeel walked in the centre along with Freed and Evergreen, keeping a close eye on Wendy who was still slightly tired from Natsu's rushed healing.

The man eventually stopped and pointed straight ahead, stuttering as Gildarts and Laxus glared at him.

'D-d-d-down there!' He squeaked out, pointing towards a dimly lit end to the cave.

Gildarts shoved him into the wall, and he fell to the cold, stone ground unconscious.

The group quickly advanced down the tunnel, before they reached the entrance to the massive cavern.

For a moment, they stood still in shock at the site before them.

Lucy was shackled to the wall by her wrists, dried blood made dark red rivulets down her pale arms; blood dripped down her legs and from her stomach a steady stream continued to flow. Her fingertips were blue, and her head hung on her chest, covered in a layer of snow.

'Luce...' Natsu whispered, his voice barely a croak as he looked at the battered body of his friend.

Slowly, her head lifted up. It took a moment for her eyes to focus on them, and tears began to drip down her face as her body shook from the cold.

**Bickslow's POV**

I was beside her in an instant, holding her face between my hands after I'd ripped my mask off when I'd run across the room.

She pressed her freezing cold skin into my palms, and I lifted a hand to stroke her hair as I muttered to her.

'Sh, sh, It's okay now Lucy, we'll get you out of here, you're alright.' I looked down at her broken body; the blood and the ripped up clothing as well as the multitude of bruises made me want to vomit, but I focused on her teary eyes and lifted a hand to brush against her black eyes.

'Bix...' She whispered, her teeth chattering as she pulled against her restraints futilely, making fresh blood trail down her arms.

'Stop moving love, it's alright, I'm here now. Calm down, we'll get you out of here, I promise.' I told her, cradling her face in my palms as my babies popped out from my jacket to slam themselves against the restraints.

'No! You shouldn't have come... Bix no... run... please, please go!' Her voice came out in a pained sound that made my heart drop, but I ignored her and pressed my lips to her forehead.

'Don't worry, we'll be alright. Stop trying to move love, you'll hurt yourself.' I told her, stroking her hair back from her face and reaching up to the restraints to try and break them open.

'NO! Bix, you don't understand, it's a trap! He wants you to be here to watch! You have to go before they come back-' She was cut off by my lips pressed to hers. I heard the others behind me gasp, grumble or laugh, but I ignored them, focusing on her soft, chilly lips against mine. She moaned slightly into my mouth, and I could have leapt for joy when her own mouth moved against mine.

I don't know how long we stood there beneath the raging snow that swirled around us, but to me it felt like time had slowed to a halt; the only thing keeping me from death being her sweet lips timidly roaming across mine.

Slowly, I pulled back and stared into her wide brown eyes, watching her cheeks flush slightly as I smiled down at her.

'Bix... you have to go... he's coming...' I placed a finger against her lips, cutting her off again, and smiling when I saw a streak of her usual annoyance flash in her eyes.

'Don't worry, we've got this. Trust us.' She hesitated before smiling slightly and resting her forehead against mine.

'I have a plan, so you should trust me.' She whispered, her eyes peering up to meet my own. I smiled sadly as I pulled away from her and looked down at her body once again.

Anger pulsed through my body as I saw once again her bloodied skin.

_Whoever hurt her shall die..._

'Bix! Something's coming! Get blondie out of here!' Laxus shouted out from behind me. I spun to see what was going on, and suddenly I was thrown against the wall beside the entrance, my body moving through the air as though I was held by puppet strings.

I was turned in the air before my back slammed into the wall, so I was facing Lucy as she stared at me in horror and worry.

'NO! LEAVE THEM ALONE!" She screamed out, yanking against her restraints desperately.

I glanced to either side of me, and saw all of the other Fairy Tail members plastered against the wall, not even able to thrash against their invisible restraints.

Natsu suddenly growled loudly, his body flaming as he transformed into his half dragon form, scales appearing along his body.

I turned to look at who had entered the cavern, and saw a hunched figure in a black cloak, followed by a tall pretty boy with blonde hair and an evil smirk across his face, twisting it into an ugly visage.

'That's the guy who stabbed Luce.' Natsu spat out, causing Laxus and Mira to snarl angrily and renew their useless thrashing.

I glared at the boy, willing my Figure Eyes to activate, but the guy just laughed.

'You're magic is sealed in this room. It has been since you entered. Now you can watch your precious _Lucy_ complete the Master's plan.' The hunched over figure cackled and opened up a small box.

_Wait, isn't that Lucy's? _I thought, frowning as he scooped out a handful of ashes and sniffed them, groaning creepily as his magic pulsed around him.

I watched as she shook her head, turning to throw me a glance before her eyes suddenly became devoid of all emotion and she stopped thrashing.

'LEAVE HER ALONE!' My voice was unrecognisable to me as I screamed in rage and thrashed against the invisible ropes that tethered me to the wall. I watched as the others tried as hard as they could to escape the magic, but no one, not even Gildarts could break through the spell.

I stared into her face, her caramel eyes dull and lifeless as she stared straight ahead without sparing me a glance as I screamed her name, my heart breaking from the fear that clawed its way in my chest.

**No-one's POV**

Xavier made a sharp gesture, and Bickslow's cries and the angry shouts of the other light mages were cut off as his magic silenced them.

The hunched over figure walked over to Lucy's prone form, and ran a long, yellowed nail across her pale, bruised cheek, before scratching her jaw and cackling as small beads of blood appeared in the unevenly broken skin.

'Let us begin.' His voice echoed in the room, and out of nowhere, mages appeared to stand on a magic circle that had been drawn with the blood of slaughtered animals.

The hunched figure began to chant, throwing the ashes of Lucy's letters on the ground before crushing the box into dust with his hands, his magic coursing through and around his skin like a black smoke. And it shot out before piercing the mages that stood on the magic circle in the chest, killing them instantly.

Outside the mountain, a huge ball of electric blue energy shot through the air like a bullet, before hovering over the hole in the mountain that was above the cavern, its sparking energy cracking through the unfamiliar air like lightning.

Suddenly, the storm outside ceased and a pure blue light shone down on top of the stone monolith. Lucy's head jerked back and her mouth opened in a silent scream as blue lightning seemed to slowly snake its way through the air, before its sharp tendrils entered Lucy through her mouth, eyes and ears, shocking her body into thrashing uncontrollably.

Blood started to leak from her eyes and ears, and red liquid bubbled out of her mouth as she coughed out more of the red liquid as the magic forced its way into her overflowing body.

Bickslow's mouth was screaming silently as her shrieks echoed in the cavern, bouncing off the walls. Tears poured down the faces of several of the mages, Mira, Erza, Wendy and Bickslow all allowing their tears to slide off their faces.

Lucy's back arched from the rock, her feet climbing up it as her body pushed forwards as the magic continued to flow into her body uncontrollably. Her screams trailed off as her body went slack, her eyes staring sightlessly in front of her at the cackling man.

The Fairy Tail mages renewed their struggle, using every ounce of their strength to try and escape the magical bonds that secured them, to no avail.

After what seemed to be a lifetime, the last remnants of the magic shot into Lucy's body as though it was a rubber band returning from its furthest stretching abilities, causing her limp body to spasm against the rock before going still once more.

Slowly, her head rose, and her eyes opened.

**Bickslow's POV**

I gasped, noticing that the magic that had silenced me had dropped, and stared in shock at her eyes.

They were pure blue, there was no iris or white of her eyes left, it was completely dark blue.

Her skin seemed to glow white as she looked upwards. I watched as her beautiful golden hair that I'd ruffled so many times slowly turned a luminescent and almost metallic silver.

The shackles that had bound her to the stone broke and shattered, and she hovered above the ground before descending to stand in front of the hunched over figure, her face an expressionless mask.

'No... Lucy...' I whispered, my heart clenching in pain as she turned to look at me, her face devoid of all emotion and recognition.

'She is my puppet! There is no use in talking to her. She follows my every command!' The hunched over figure grinned beneath his black hood as he turned to stare at us.

My eyes however were locked on Lucy.

I watched as she smirked behind him and winked her pure electric blue eyes at me before punching the blonde dude unconscious.

I grinned as he fell to the floor noiselessly, and the old guy in front of us was unaware of it.

Then, all of a sudden, all of Lucy's spirits appeared in front of us, glaring angrily at the hunched over figure, before grabbing each of our arms. Now free from the restraints the blonde guy had placed on us, I yanked my arm away, shaking my head and making a move to run towards her, only to have a giant cow with an axe on his back grab me.

'NO! LUCY!' I screamed out, reaching for her as she smiled, her lips parting to show the golden light that was hidden inside her mouth.

I fought against the giant muscled cow, to no avail. The golden light cloaked me from her view and I found myself in another dimension, stars surrounding me as the other Fairy Tail mages appeared beside me, screaming their anger out.

'WHY DID YOU BRING ME HERE? SHE NEEDS ME!' I screamed at Loke, who had been the one to grab my other arm when the cow had restrained me, the one to bring me here, away from her.

'It's what she asked us to do. Trust her, please. It's all we can do.' He whispered, his pain and sadness evident in his voice.

'TAKE ME BACK NOW!' I grabbed him by his suit jacket and lifted him off the ground so his face was level with mine.

'I can't. She asked me to keep everyone here for a few minutes. If I didn't do as she asked, she would have commanded us, and I did not want to force her to go against her beliefs. She wants this.' Loke ripped my hands off of him and dropped to the ground, staring at the floor as his hands hung uselessly at his sides.

I was about to demand more when Nick suddenly gasped, coughing and collapsing to the ground, reaching out to Loke and screaming out one word.

'GO!' Loke shot upright, pain and fear evident in his face as I grabbed onto him before he disappeared, forcing him to take me with him back to Lucy.

**Lucy's POV**

I stared at the cowering old man on the floor. His hood had fallen back to show pure white hair and black eyes, that held no remorse or sorrow for the crimes he'd committed.

I stared down at him, as he slowly backed away.

'HOW? HOW DID YOU ESCAPE MY CONTROL?' I smirked, shaking my head as I walked towards him, the magic inside of me pulsing desperately under my skin, begging and clawing at me to be released.

The magic I had managed to pull out of my container while he was busy cackling over his "successful" scheme had been useful. I'd managed to mould it and shape it into a net, surrounding my brain with it so he still believed he had access to my mind, yet his magic couldn't get past my net that wrapped around my mind.

'NO! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DESTORY THEM NOT SAVE THEM! YOU SHOULD KILL FAIRY TAIL! NOT ME!' I scowled at him, glaring as his words grated on my mind.

'You. You've hurt me, my friends... my family. You don't deserve to live.' I barely recognised my own voice as I raised a hand almost robotically as the magic that he'd crammed inside of me finally found a place to release itself, and shot out in a massive explosion of light and power, running the evil mage through his chest. I staggered slightly at the immense drain I felt, but remained standing and ignored the pain that suddenly thrust itself upon me so I could watch him writhe in his own agony.

The cavern had collapsed at the huge amount of energy and magical pressure I'd released from the magic of Tenrou island that this bastard had pulled away from there. He used me as the magnet, and cast a long range spell that somehow made Tenrou islands power home in on me like a freaking missile. Now he was feeling the pain of the magic pierce his body before shooting up into the sky, reforming and flying back to Tenrou, the place where it was supposed to be.

His mouth opened in surprise, before he smirked, casting one last spell as he died.

I felt the magic smoke spears sink into my chest and staggered backwards, looking down at the solid black magic that stuck out of my chest.

I reached my hand up to touch the spear, and slowly sank to the floor.

'LUCY!' My head turned to see Bix appear with Loke, and I smiled before my body began to fall backwards, going limp.

**Bickslow's POV**

'NO! No, no, no, no, no! Please, Mavis no!' I muttered, holding her in my lap as I watched the black spears disappear in a puff of terrible black smoke.

When Loke appeared with me clutching his arm, the first thing I saw was those deadly spears stuck into her chest, and I almost died on the spot.

It felt like someone had reached inside of me and ripped my heart out, squeezing every last drop of my emotions and love for her out into the ground.

I watched as she began to fall backwards, and found myself suddenly holding her against me, crying into her hair that had returned to normal upon releasing her magic.

'No. Please Lucy... don't leave me... don't leave me alone...' I close my eyes and rested my forehead against hers.

I felt her hand lightly brush against my cheek, and pulled it against my face, turning my head so I could kiss her palm, before looking down at her smiling face.

'You'll be... fine... come on Bix, you look... better when you... smile.' I shook my head and clutched her hand tightly as I pulled her body upright so her chest was against mine and her head rest under my chin.

'I can't smile while you're in pain!' I whispered, turning to look for Loke, who was sitting on the floor and staring in shock.

'GO GET WENDY! NOW!' I screamed at him, breaking him out of his stupor and watching as he flashed out of sight in golden lights.

'Bix... I'm sorry...'

'NO! You'll be fine. Loke will bring Wendy, she can heal you and you'll be fine, you hear me Cosplayer? You're going to be okay.' I cried out, tears streaming down my face as I looked down and saw her blood leaking out of her chest. She started to cough suddenly, and more blood sputtered out of her mouth as she struggled to breath around the blood that wanted to escape up her windpipe.

'Bix... I love you...' She whispered, tears glistening in her warm, caramel coloured eyes as she reached her hand out to stroke along my cheek once again.

'I love you too Cosplayer, so you better stay with me till Wendy gets here, you hear me? Don't leave me alone... please...' I choked on the pain and emotion that welled up in my throat, and held her even tighter in my arms.

'Sorry Bix... seems like... I needed... more training, huh?' She laughed out, coughing again and grunting from the pain as her ribs moved.

'Stop talking baby, just wait for me, okay? Just wait here with me for Wendy! Don't you fucking dear leave me or else, you hear me Lucy?' My voice was growing more and more panicked as her breathing became more ragged and uneven, slowing down as her body slumped against mine.

'Tired Bix... cold... wanna sleep...'

'NO! Don't go to sleep Lucy! WAKE UP! STAY WITH ME!' I shouted, pulling back so I could stare into her blood stained face and stroke her cold cheeks, brushing against her soft golden hair as her eyes stared sightlessly ahead.

'NO! Lucy! Don't go... please don't go...' I felt my voice waver as I stared into her face. Her heat beat slowly against my body as I pulled her close to me once again, clutching at straws as I tried to hold her in the land of the living.

Finally, Loke appeared with Wendy and she rushed to my side, her healing light pulsing out of her hands in desperate waves as she tried to heal her wounds.

'Took you long enough!' I snapped at the ginger haired spirit, who ignored me and only stared down at her motionless body in my arms.

'Bickslow-san...' Wendy's quiet voice seemed to echo in the air as the snow fell gently around us. I shook my head as I looked down into her tear filled eyes and felt my grip on her tighten.

'No. Keep healing her Wendy. Keep going. Don't fucking argue with me, KEEP FUCKING HEALING HER NOW!' I screamed out feeling the heat of life slowly leaving her body, and knowing that if this was going to work, I had to act fast.

_Lucy you're not fucking leaving me yet, you hear me?_


	44. Chapter 44

**Laxus's POV**

I watched as all of her spirits froze, before pure sadness and grief marred their faces, the mermaid creature screaming and throwing herself at the scorpion guy, who held her tightly while silent tears tracked down his tanned cheeks. The cow sank to the floor, staring down at the ground as the maid spirits stood stock still, her body shaking slightly as tears silently poured down her cheeks.

_No..._ I thought, my blood freezing and running cold as my brain came up with a reason for why such grief would occur.

'NO! LUCY!' Erza screamed, throwing herself to the ground and pounding the floor with her fists, before leaping up and grabbing the maid spirit, screaming at her as she shook her.

'VIRGO! TAKE ME BACK TO HER NOW!' The maid blinked and tried to refocus her eyes on Erza's face through her tears.

Suddenly, Loke appeared and grabbed Wendy before disappearing almost immediately.

_Oh Mavis no... please God don't let her be hurt... tell me she's alright..._ I stalked towards Erza and grabbed her, pulling her off the mourning spirit, before talking softly to the pink haired woman.

'Please... take us to her.' She looked up at me, then at the rest of us. Gray was frozen solid, ironic for an ice mage, but he stood unmoving as he stared up to the sky; his hands hanging uselessly at his sides. Natsu was pressing his head into the ground, and started banging it harder and harder on the floor, before Gildarts grabbed him and lifted him into a tight hug which he tried in vain to fight out of before screaming into Gildarts cloaked figure.

Mira was staring down at her hands, shaking her head as she sobbed, sinking to the floor and covering her eyes while muttering to herself.

Freed stood straight, his eyes and face expressing no emotion, but I knew this was what he did to stop his entire world from falling apart and his magic from spiralling out of control. However, Evergreen sat on the floor at Freed's feet, one hand clutching at the bottom of his red coat while the other rested over her heart. She was staring at the floor, her glasses reflection hiding her eyes, but her tears were uncontrollably pouring down her face as she leant her body against Freed's leg for support.

Virgo interrupted my observances and nodded as she turned to the other spirits.

'Hime-sama would wish for us to return her friends, and not cry.' She whispered, her usually strong, solid voice quivering and uncertain. Slowly, the spirits drew themselves out of their grief, the last one to come to her senses being the mermaid, Aquarius.

_Flashback_

'Who's you're strongest spirit then blondie?' I called out, smirking at her as she glared at me.

'All my spirits are strong! Although, if you're talking magically, Loke, he is the leader of the Zodiac. Then again...' She broke off and shuddered, her face going slightly pale.

'What? You scared of one of your spirits?' I teased, only to receive another deadly glare.

'Of course not! I love Aquarius just as much as all my other spirits! She's more high strung than the others, and does wash me away whenever I summon her... but I love her a lot! She's been with me ever since I was a child, and has never changed. Believe it or not, that's what's helped me hang on during the hardest times. After my Mother died, she was the one who stepped up to get me through it.' Her voice had grown tender, and she smiled to herself gently as she sank into her memories; her face taking on an almost ethereal quality.

'She's like a second Mother to me. She doesn't like to show she likes me, but I know deep down she loves me as much as I love her. I never need to say it, but we both know. I don't know what I would have done without her. I probably wouldn't be here today; she gave me the courage to leave, and supported me in coming to Fairy Tail. Her way of showing it was... peculiar, but I don't care. She always knows what to do to get me moving.' She laughed, her eyes sparkling as the light caught them, and I couldn't help but smile at how much she seemed to love this spirit.

_Flashback Ends_

'Aquarius baby, Virgo's right. Lucy would want us to be happy, not to cry.' Scorpio smiled sadly down at the blue haired mermaid, who only burst into more tears, shaking her head against his chest as she clutched onto him tightly.

I stepped towards them, waiting for her sobs to quieten for a moment before speaking.

'She really loves you, so quit your crying and go see her with us.' I snapped, watching as she stopped the water works before turning to throw an evil glare at me that rivalled Erza's.

_I see where Lucy learned it from..._ I thought, shuddering internally, but not showing her how she'd affected me.

'Shut it lightning boy.' She scoffed, glaring again before grabbing Erza and Mira and disappearing in a shower of gold.

Scorpio came up to me and clapped me on the shoulder.

'Thanks.' I jerked my head in a nod, before I felt my body seem to drop as he teleported me back to Earthland.

I blinked, adjusting to the light and my eyes zeroed in on the one thing I didn't want to see.

Wendy was frantically healing her as tears streamed down her face, her hands shaking from the huge amount of magic she was pumping into her.

Bix held her in his arms and was stroking at her hair, murmuring to her desperately as his own tears dripped on her face.

'No...' I whispered, not believing what I was seeing.

My body stepped forwards without my consent, and before I knew it I was beside Wendy and was holding her bloody, cold hand in my own, feeling for a pulse in her torn up wrist where the shackles had ripped at her skin; only to find nothing.

'Bix... she's gone.' I whispered, my voice cracking at the word as I slowly lowered her wrist to the ground.

I could feel my heart dying in my chest, and the dragon inside of me wanted to scream and rampage, to tear down the giant stone column that held her captive; to destroy the place that was now her tomb.

'I can save her... she's not fucking dying yet! I need more time, Wendy keep healing her, you hear me? Ignore Laxus, keep going!' Bix spat out, his eyes blazing green as he clutched onto her still form, desperation turning him into a madman.

I reached out, about to try and pull him away, but he turned and snarled at me, pulling her body closer to him before blinking away his anger at me and facing her open, lifelessly dull eyes.

'Her soul's still here... I can save her... I need more time!' He said, staring into her eyes as Wendy slowly healed the holes in her chest.

I could see that this was tearing apart the young girl. I could see in her own chocolate brown eyes the pain and hopelessness that settled there as she sent her healing magic into Lucy's body.

'Please... Bix, it's too late.' I whispered, my voice deep with pain and sadness. I turned to see Erza and Mira, clutching one another on the ground. They'd already seen her body, and were grieving together. Considering the old time rivalry between them, it just went to show how much they both loved Lucy that they were clutching at one another to stay sane.

Natsu appeared along with Gildarts, Gray, Freed and Ever. Gildarts took one look at the blonde on the floor before storming across to punch a wall repeatedly, his fist coming away bloodied as he ground his teeth, his magical pressure spiking with his anger and destroying the ground at his feet.

Gray slowly knelt on the floor, looking down at the ground as his tears dropped into his open hands, while Freed sat beside Ever on the cold stone and hugged her to him, hiding his face in her brown hair as she in turn hid her grief in his green locks.

'NO! Laxus, you don't get it! I can save her. I just need time!' He turned his tear stained face towards me, and I felt as though I'd been kicked in the guts.

His brow was furrowed in pain as his eyes stared up at me, fresh tears lingering at the corners of the green orbs. His lips trembled as he gasped in oxygen, trying to hold back his panic and pain while he held her close to him, one arm supporting her neck and head, while the other caressed her face and bruised and bloodied cheek.

I knew he wasn't insane then, but he was teetering on the edge. If she died, he would die too. There was no getting around it; he'd jump from this mountain before thinking about life without her.

I shut my eyes and took in a deep breath, forcing my own grief to hide beneath the facade I'd perfected since I was a child; the one that turned me into an unfeeling bastard, and opened my eyes as I stared down at him, not expressing the deep rooted fear and pain that wanted to consume me.

'Can you save her?' Loke suddenly shoved past me and bragged Bix by the shoulder, his hand digging into his skin as he stared at him.

Bix nodded his head, staring straight at Loke, who took a deep breath before disappearing.

Moments later, the magical pressure around us increased so much I felt like a slab of concrete had been hoisted onto my shoulders, and I spun around to look around, only to see the snowflakes that had been falling were frozen in the air.

I reached up a hand and brushed through the soft flakes, watching as they moved from the contact, before slowing and stopping in the air.

'Old friends, friends of my friend. My old friend Leo has told me of my friend's plight. I hope my friend's friend can bring her back to us.' I spun and saw a giant man with a huge moustache that towered tall than the mountain. He was looking down at Lucy with sadness, and turned his gaze to Bix, almost pleadingly.

'Who the hell is that?' I whispered to myself, but turned as Loke answered.

'He's the spirit king. Lucy saved his life back then, now he wants to return the favour.' Loke turned and stood beside Bix.

'You said you needed time, now you have it. So fix her... please.' Wendy was trembling uncontrollably from exhaustion, and I saw Lucy's spirit Nick rest his hand on her shoulder, telling her to rest before taking his place and pouring all of his magical healing light into her half healed body. Instantly, the bruises across her face healed, and her marred wrists returned to the silken, pale perfection they had been.

I stood behind Bix, and watched as he lightly pressed his lips to hers, whispering quietly to her.

'I'll bring you back to me Lucy.'

**Natsu's POV**

I watched as the spirit king appeared, somehow taking in what my eyes were seeing but still unable to comprehend it.

My mind was focused only on the unmoving blonde body that Bickslow held in his arms.

Luce couldn't be dead... not even for a moment. She had more life than the entire guild put together and some more on top of that! She was strong, and brave, and she loved everyone like no one had before. She was gentle, and my partner... she couldn't be gone...

I clenched my shaking fists, before ploughing them into the ground to try and stop the sign of my grief from interfering with my thoughts and sanity.

Luce... couldn't be gone... Bix would save her... he just said, didn't he? Wasn't the spirit king immensely strong? Couldn't he save her?

I lifted my eyes and saw a familiar figure stand and start to stagger away.

I growled low in my throat and flew forwards, past Bix and Luce to grab onto the blonde haired man with a flaming fist an ramming him into the wall, winding him severely.

I blinked before his eyes filled with fear as he recognised me.

'_You._' I sneered, lifting him higher with one hand clinging to his shirt before throwing him across the open cavern so he bounced along the ground to a stop in front of Erza and Mira, who had stood when they saw me attack. I stalked forwards, my body blazing as I kicked the downed man in the ribs, making him fly into another wall as he cried out.

'Natsu! What are you doing?' Erza called out, grabbing me tightly while wearing her flame empress armour to prevent burns. I snarled and thrashed against her as I shouted out at the cowering mage who now coughed up some blood.

'HE STABBED HER! HE WAS THE ONE WHO BETRAYED HER TRUST! HE'S GOING TO FUCKING DIE!' I screamed, tears streaming down my face as I felt Erza's grip on me tighten momentarily before she punched me on the head, making me fall to the floor and my flames extinguish.

I looked up at her incredulously, but smirked when I saw both her and Mira's evil aura's emerging and making one incredible dark mass behind them. I saw the guys eyes widen before he scrambled upright and tried to cast a spell, only to frown when it didn't work.

'I've already written the runes necessary to stop your spells. You shall pay for hurting Lucy-sama.' Freed's voice spoke from behind Erza and Mira, and he stepped up beside them in his darkness form, looking like a demon; Ever then appeared from behind him, glaring at the man with an aura that rivalled Erza's.

'_Nobody_ hurts Lucy.' She spat out, her small hands clenched in fists as they all stepped forwards. I was about to stand and follow them to get in on the beating, but I felt Gray's cold hand on my shoulder.

'You've had your turn. Let's go get the rest of the bastards who were in on it. There must be more. We need to leave Bix to do his thing.' I looked up at him, and saw my pain and grief reflected in his eyes. I turned to look at her unmoving body, and saw that her head was now resting in Laxus's lap while Bix was chanting at her side, his babies hovering above them in a circle.

'Gildarts! We're going to go find some breathing punch bags, wanna help?' Gray called out, his eyes locked on Luce, his worry evident in his voice and every move of his body.

'Let's go Natsu.' I felt Gildarts large hand rest on my shoulder, and looked up at him before my gaze was magnetically pulled back to her.

'Natsu. We can't help here.' I nodded slowly, standing up and feeling Happy return to my shoulders.

'Natsshuu.' I reached up and rubbed his soft blue furry head, looking into his teary eyes.

'I know Happy. Let's go.' I whispered, throwing a sad glance over my shoulder as we walked out to one of the tunnels to begin the hunt.

_Bickslow... save her... please._


	45. Chapter 45

**Bickslow's POV**

I looked down in to her dull eyes, and reached out a shaky hand to close her eye lids, not wanting to look into the lifeless pools.

I looked up at Laxus, who nodded encouragingly, his hands framing her face and stoking back her hair.

'Keep healing her. Don't stop, okay?' Nick nodded without looking at me; still pouring his healing light into her battered body, causing the bruises and marks to slowly fade till her skin wasn't marred or scarred in the slightest.

I reached out with one hand and brushed my fingers against her lips, glancing up to see the majority of our group beating someone up in a corner, and Natsu, Gray and Gildarts leaving down another tunnel to explore; Natsu and Gray throwing nervous and worried glances my way, directed at the blonde woman lying before me.

I took a deep breath as I faced forwards, my hands hovering over her prone form as I reached inside of myself and pulled on all of my magic.

As I gathered the energy in my palms and behind my closed eyes, I remembered the feel of her lips against mine, her soft taste as she responded to my kiss... the feeling of flying high above my body as I realised she loved me, _me_. It was the best moment of my life, despite the terrible circumstances, and the horrific pain her body had been forced to endure, that moment my lips touched hers for the first time, and her sweet tasting mouth had moved against my own would be captured in my mind for the rest of my life.

She was the only thing now that kept me sane, that made me feel halfway towards being a human rather than a murderous monster with deadly eyes I could barely control when I was angered.

I had to save her... to hold her warm body in my arms, to feel those lips against mine once more, to hear her beautiful laughter... to just sit beside her as she ate or spoke to someone else. If I could make her heart beat once more, for her to live again, I would die happy.

To lose her now, before I had the chance to express the true depth of my feelings for her was a cruel and savage twist of fate, which I would not allow to occur.

Determined, I opened my eyes and stared ahead of me, pouring my magic into my glowing orbs as a golden light in front of me became visible, as though a fog was clearing from in front of it.

I waited till the seemingly fiery soul was clear, and reached out to it with my hands, gently cupping it and bringing it into my chest and hugging it to me.

I could hear in my mind her laughter, her happiness, her sadness, her joy and her pain all at once pouring into me, and felt fresh tears pricking at my eyes as her past flashed across my mind, image by image till I reached her thoughts about me, her memories of me.

I forced myself to stop watching then, knowing I'd rather have her tell me how she felt rather than spy on her soul, her life force, when I was about to save her.

I slowly lowered the soul towards her body, mumbling an ancient and nearly forgotten spell under my breath.

**"Mortuus in anima ad corpus rediit utero vas a te fortitudinem meam, **

**et munera vis facis te libertate vitae sit. **

**Revertere!"**

The soul pressed against my hands, pushing away from her body as I tried to force it back into her chest, golden light piercing the air around me and a sudden whirlwind burst around us, blue sparks sending out jagged tendrils into the space around me, Laxus and Nick. Loke was thrown back by the pressure emitted from the soul as it began to slowly sink into her chest, still resisting against the pressure I was pushing against it.

'What's going on?!' Laxus shouted out above the booming magical pressure that had encased us, and had caused the floor beneath our feet to crack and crumble from the centre of her body outwards.

'Soul's are the source of our magic! Her body is trying to repel it so it's reacting.' I called back, as I pushed one last time, the soul finally implanting itself inside her chest where it belonged.

The pre3ssure suddenly disappeared, before there was a golden light that burst out of her chest, her body jerking and spasming on the ground, before she fell still once more, her head turned to one side on Laxus's lap.

I was breathing heavily as I reached out and rested my hand on her chest, waiting... _thump, thump..._

I sighed in relief and sank backwards onto my feet, smiling before laughing nervously, my adrenaline pulsing through my system as tears once more tracked down my face.

_Stop crying you fucking pussy. It worked._ I thought to myself, angrily wiping away at my face as I reached down to stroke her warming cheeks, her breath tingling against my hand.

'Thank you. Thank you so much.' I looked up to see Nick clasping her hand to him and staring up at me with tear-filled eyes, his body shaking from the relief.

She's alive.

I did it.

'Well done Bix.' Laxus murmured, his hands running through her hair as he stared down at her fully healed pale face, the skin looking softer than ever.

'LUCE!' Natsu suddenly appeared beside Laxus, kneeling down as he grabbed her free hand and clutched it tightly within his, grinning up at the rest of the group who had appeared beside us, realising she was back.

I stared down at her chest as oxygen filled her lungs once more.

_She's alive... thank Mavis, she's alive!_ My head lifted to look up at the sky, the snow still frozen in time as the Spirit King grinned down at us.

'Thank you for saving my friend. Old friends, it is time we return. Look after Lucy.' He smirked down at us before bowing his head slightly and disappearing in a shower of pure white light and sparks.

Nick nodded, kissing her hand and trailing his own fingers across her cheek in slight disbelief, before looking up at me and nodding before he too disappeared.

'Bickslow.' I turned to see Loke standing beside me, looking down at me as he stared straight into my eyes with solid ones filled with resolve.

'Thank you. If you hadn't of saved her... I don't even know how you did it, or where you learned that spell. His Highness seems to have allowed you to use it, for Lucy, but you must know to never use it again. He seems to be more willing to bend the rules where she's concerned. Should you try it again, it wouldn't end well. This isn't a threat, it's a warning.' I nodded my acknowledgment before Freed and Ever could pounce on him for his monotone voice.

'I know Loke. I would have paid the price willingly for her.' I whispered, turning to stare down at her face once more before he clapped a hand on my shoulder.

'Thank you. You have no idea how much we spirits are indebted to you.' His voice cracked before he moved away, coughing into his hand to hold back the emotion.

I watched as he walked over to Erza, who dragged a bloody blonde headed man across the ground behind her.

'If I may, Titania, I shall deal with the... trash. We spirits have some words to exchange with that creature. It's our turn.' He grinned ferally at her as she yanked the bloody mess of a human into the air, handing him over to the spirit.

'Knock yourself out. Freed's runes are still in place, and shall be for a long, long time.' She and Mira exchanged evil glances as they grinned at one another, making me shiver slightly at the aura they emanated.

'Laxus, call Master and tell him the mission was a success. We should get back home.' Gildart's voice interrupted the exchange as he stared down at Lucy with his arms folded and a small smile pulling at his lips.

'I shall be going then. We'll return this slug when we've had our fun with it.' Loke kicked the dark mage, making him groan as he disappeared.

I attempted to stand, only to stagger and nearly face plant the floor. It was only due to my babies quick reactions that they caught me so Freed and Gray could hold me upright.

'Relax Bix. You used a shit tonne of magic there. I've got blondie.' Laxus looked up at me as he gently scooped her tiny, fragile body into his arms.

I nodded in acquiescence; there was no way I could walk by myself after using so much energy in casting that spell.

It was truly a forbidden spell I'd come across when I read a book (yeah, I read... sometimes) but I'd filed it away for emergencies. The cost of casting that spell, was to sacrifice your own life force in exchange. Balance had to be maintained in the world, and to save one life in that way, another would usually have to be taken in it's place.

I was prepared for that. I was ready to die for her, to leave her in Laxus's care.

I knew he would love her enough for both of us, and she would come to love him too.

However, it seems she has some friends in high places, and Mr. Spirit King had decided to overlook it this once.

Loke's warning was to prepare me, so I knew this was a one off ticket. If I ever tried that spell again, I would die.

**Natsu's POV**

I smirked at Laxus triumphantly.

Luce was now in my arms now we were outside. She'd started shivering against him, and tried to huddle into his warmth, yet it didn't do much.

So Erza and Freed convince him to hand her over to me, and she relaxed in my arms immediately, my extreme body heat encasing her and protecting her from the howling snow and wind that had begun as soon as the massive spirit dude left.

I looked down at her, and pulled her tighter against my chest so I could feel her heart thumping away steadily against me.

I nuzzled into her hair and breathed in deeply, content now I knew I could always be near her, to smell her still; to hear her laugh and tell me off for stealing her food.

Luce was okay. I looked back to see Bickslow still exhausted and practically falling asleep as he dangled between Freed and the Ice Stripper, who was shirtless again.

I smirked as I turned to face where I was walking once more, trudging through the snow that melted slightly as I stepped forwards.

'Well done! You bought her back!' I heard a familiar childish giggle and turned to see Master Mavis hovering beside me, staring down at her blonde head.

'I'll take you all to the guild now, she needs more rest.' Her tone was far more serious as she looked down at Luce's unmoving body in my arms with a weird expression on her face.

Everyone else seemed to of noticed it too, as they scrambled to gather into a ragged circle, waiting for First to teleport us home.

I frowned as I looked down at her and shut my eyes as nausea at the thought of teleportation threatened to overwhelm me.

_Hasn't she been through enough?! Hasn't she suffered enough?! When will this end? Why can't Kami leave Luce alone?_ I took a calming breath and released it, opening my eyes to find we stood outside the guild back in Magnolia.

I glared at Laxus as he snatched Luce out of my arms and wanted to punch him, only to be hit by Erza as soon as my fist lit up.

I rubbed my head and scowled at Ice boy as he laughed at me, but didn't attack. He still held Bickslow, and he saved Luce, so I owed him one.

I got up and trooped into the guild behind everyone else, who walked straight up to the infirmary, smiling softly at the cheers of happiness that Luce had returned.

Wendy walked beside Laxus, and was looking over Luce with a grim face.

I shoved past everyone and grabbed her arm, my eyes wide as Laxus carried on walking upstairs to the infirmary with Luce in his arms.

'Wendy, what's wrong?' I asked quietly. My quiet tone seemed to echo through the guild as everyone realised something still wasn't quite right.

'She's... Lucy-san is... she's fine, but... she's in a coma. I don't know when, or if she'll... wake up.' Her voice ended on a quiet whisper, and my hand dropped away from her arm as my feet seemed to drop out from under me.

_"if she'll wake up... if she'll wake... if..."_

'No. Luce will come back to us. She always sleeps in when she uses a lot of magic. She'll come back soon, just give her a day to rest.' I laughed slightly, looking around to see serious faces surrounding me and Happy crying next to Carle, who tried to comfort him.

'Happy! Stop crying! Luce is fine! She'll be awake soon, you hear me?' I started to shout, staring around the faces of my guild, looking into their saddened eyes before shouting at them all.

'STOP IT! SHE'S ALIVE! STOP LOOKING LIKE SHE'S DEAD CAUSE SHE'S NOT!' I felt a hand on my shoulder, and whipped round to see Gildarts looking down at me. Slowly, he shook his head and pulled me against his chest in a tight hug, pulling me even tighter when I fought for release.

'She's not dead! She's not dead...' I cried against his chest, hitting my fists against him as the guild started to murmur behind me.

'Natsu's right!' I heard Master shout from the balcony, and Gildarts released me so I could turn to look up at him along with everyone else.

'Lucy has come back to us alive! LET'S PARTY!' I grinned through my blurry eyes as everyone started to cheer, Cana throwing back a barrel of alcohol and chugging it as others egged her on.

_Arigato Oji-chan... Arigato..._

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**TRANSLATION OF SPELL:**

Lost soul, return to the body of your birth, by my power I reunite your life force with your vessel and gift you your freedom once more. Return!

**A/N:** Sorry for the lack of updates the past couple days, hectic things happening, but I pulled this one out of the bag. YES SHE'S ALIVE! Now to just wake up... ;)

I was sorely tempted to kill Bixy, and make it a LaLu, but I restrained myself.

This is about as evil as I get, so from here on it shall be nice-ish. :3

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll try and update tomorrow evening, though I will be busy for the next couple days, so it depends, and I'm going to be trying to upload office 2007 to my NEW LAPTOP/NETBOOK, so yeah, busy busy buys! :) xx

Please remember to review! They make me smile! :) xx


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N: **Okay guys, this is a casual chapter, just so you see what's going on from Laxus's POV. i will update tomorrow if i find time, very busy day tomorrow, and it will be more humorous, so bare with! ;)

ALSOOOOOO, **IMPORTANT BIT RIGHT HERE... PLEASE READ IT...**

I already have a BRILLIANT idea for my next story and I am **GIVING YOU LOVELY PEOPLE THE CHANCE TO DECIDE WHO TO PAIR LUCY WITH IT! CAUSE I'M AWESOME!**

Now, after Fury is complete, I'm heading to University on the 20th, so you lovies will need to wait patiently for it, but I will try and find time at some weekend to begin the story. I might try to complete it before posting any chapters, so you'll need to be patient with me, but I will put up the poll tonight on my profile (so gimme five minutes please!) and it will stay up till maybe early October time? Cause that is when I will have settled into my course maybe...

SO, CHECK OUT MY PROFILE ONCE YOU'VE READ THIS DOOZY OF A CHAPTER AND VOTE AWAY!

FYI, I WON'T ACCEPT VOTES/REQUESTS FOR OTHER MEN TO BE IN THE COMPETITION, I AM **STRICTLY A CRACK-SHIPPER**, SO FORGET A GRALU, NALU, LOLU, ROLU OR STICY (I know they arent all normal ships, but I'm not fond of those ones tbh, so deal with it) :P (i may write a NaLu in the future, but do not pester me please. it'll make me hate the idea more than anything if i have pesterers!) ;) x

EITHER WAY, HERE YA GO! ENJOY MA LOVELIEEESS! :)

Oh, P.S. Please remember to review! let's me know what ya think, and if it's good enough. :) :3 xxxx

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**Laxus's POV**

I sat beside her, watching her breathe; once again useless as she lay in this damned infirmary, Bix in the other bed, me sitting between them and keeping vigil over their sleeping forms.

My mind couldn't help but skip back to when we'd found her; her body dangling painfully from those rusted, sharp shackles that dug into her flesh like a knife, continuously scraping at her creamy skin.

I remembered how the dragon within me wanted to leap forwards and murder Bix when his lips touched hers, when he stroked his large, calloused hands across her smooth bruised and bloodies cheeks... I knew it would happen. I'd _wanted_ it to happen, for them both to fall in love and find the happiness they deserved, Bix especially.

But it still felt like a giant fist had punched through my chest and grabbed my heart before squeezing out every last drop of rational emotions I had left.

Basically, it fucking hurt to see him with her, despite me giving up on any chance with her, it still fucking hurt.

I remember how my eyes had clouded over with rage, and I had to clench my fists tightly against my sides to stop my body from throwing itself at them and ripping them apart before claiming her as mine with my lips against hers instead of his, replacing his own taste with my own in her mouth.

I remember how I had crushed those feelings, ignoring the howling dragon within my mind that screamed at me to _claim_ and instead turned to the deal with the bastards that had caused her so much pain, intent on releasing my frustrations and anger out on them, before being attached to the freaking wall.

God how pathetic and useless I felt, my soul being ripped apart and my mind falling over the edge of sanity as I saw her body being stuffed full of magic, that freaking magic from Tenrou that had already caused her so much trouble.

I had felt so proud as she punched that blonde asshole who'd been smirking at us as she approached, the act of a mindless zombie in place. That guys face filled with shock when she hit him in the wall, and I almost couldn't hide the laughter from that old creep.

It surprised me he'd been so easy to take down, then again, blondie had been filled up with the entirety of Tenrou's magic, and at that moment had probably been the strongest mage alive.

I sighed, looking down at her still face before turning to look at Bix snoring with his babies, recovering all the magic energy he'd spent to save her, to reconnect her soul to the land of the living.

I'd never known he could do something like that, probably a good thing since I used to be such a jerk.

'Hey Laxus.' I turned to see Gray enter the room, shirtless as he sat on the other side of her bed and reached out to take her hand in one of his cold ones, smiling softly at her before beginning to chat to her.

She'd been asleep for a week now, along with Bix.

Porlyusica had almost bitten off Gramps head for calling her again, but had immediately got to work in assessing the two.

'This stupid human male will be fine, complete bed rest for him. The blonde girl will wake when she's ready. She's suffered a large magical trauma, now don't call me for the rest of the month unless it's life or death, even then don't bother! I HATE YOU HUMANS!' I snickered slightly at the memory of her smashing a broom over Gramps head before stalking out of the guild, glaring at anyone who dared to look at her, making them cower at her extreme ire.

A rota had been worked out for visiting hours for blondie; we couldn't have that fire idiot in here all the time and waking Bix up when he needs total rest like he does, so Mira and I were chosen to run the visiting hours.

Team Natsu visited the most, but everyone in this guild, and several mages from other guilds had visited, as well as ordinary civilians who'd nervously stood by her bedside before leaving with an awkward wave towards me and a gentle smile towards her still form.

It made me realise how much people loved her; how much she was valued to the guild and the people of Magnolia. She truly was an incredible woman... who'd never be mine.

I listened to Gray ramble about his fights with Natsu over the past week, and how Erza had sworn off of strawberry cake till she'd woken up, and told her to get up soon, cause Erza was more snappy and grouchy than ever now she'd promised not to eat her sweet treats.

Gramps had managed to get the guild to celebrate her return, but when reality had finally set in they'd grown easily depressed, so were often sent out on missions by Gramps to keep their minds busy. Carle had let slip that coma patients had been known to stay comatose for years in some cases, causing the entire guild to go silent for a whole ten minutes- something that had never happened in the history of Fairy Tail.

Seriously, people came in off the streets to see if we were still alive.

Gray had finally finished talking and was gently holding onto her hand, staring into her unmoving eyes, clearly praying she would wake up and giggle, laughing that she'd tricked us properly this time; that she'd fooled us and she was fine.

I knew because that's what I'd been hoping with every fibre of my being every second I sat beside her.

'Thanks for being here all the time Laxus.' Gray whispered, before releasing her hand and placing it carefully on the covers beside her body, walking out silently with his shoulders hunched as his hands dug deeply into his trouser pockets.

'Come on blondie. Wake up, please... everyone's worried bout you all over again. Even Natsu, he's just been sitting silently- I know, never knew he could be silent, but he is. He just won't talk to anyone but you. So wake the fuck up, please Lucy... we need you... fuck I hate this kinda pussy ass talk, but jeez blondie, just wake the fuck up already...' I bit my lip and screwed my eyes tight shut as I clutched at her hand, raising the numb limb so her soft, warm skin rested on my forehead.

'Please Lucy... come back to me... we... I... need you... so get the fuck off your sassy ass and smile at us again before I lose my fucking mind.' I felt the tears running down my face, ignoring them as I smoothed my thumb across her palm, rotating it in small circles across her skin as I kept it against my head.

I lost track of how long I sat there, desperately clutching her hand to my face, trying to trick myself into believing she was awake and was giving me some form of comfort... trying to trick myself into thinking she loved me, that she cared as much for me as she did for Bix.

'Hey, Laxus. You should go rest, it's late.' I looked up, noticing my head had fallen to the mattress beside her body, to see Mira standing in the doorway with a worried expression on her face.

I looked around and found it had already got dark, and the guild was being locked up.

I shook my head at her, looking down at Lucy, before turning to look at Bix.

'I'll stay. He might wake up tonight. I gotta tell him what's going on... I can at least stop a rampage.' I told her, forcing myself to smile before I found my gaze being pulled back to her angelic, peaceful face.

'If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was just napping.' Mira whispered, moving to stand beside the head of the bed and stroking a hand through her blonde fringe, stroking her fingertips through the soft golden locks.

'Only difference being she might never fucking wake up.' I spat out, suddenly angry, before I forced myself to calm down and mutter an apology.

'You love her too, don't you Laxus?' Mira asked suddenly after a few moments of silence. I blinked at her, before scoffing and glaring into her sympathetic and pity filled eyes.

'Hell no, demon lady. She's like a sister to me now, she's Bix's. Besides, Gramps loves her as much if not more than me. I thought you were happy your "ultimate ship" had got together.' I sneered at her to cover the pain that ran through my body as Mira seemed to remind me she could never be mine with that understanding look she'd given me.

_That's cause she never will be Baka... Bix is gonna treat her like a freaking Princess, he'd never hurt her, so there's no chance you'd ever be with her._ I sighed out loud and ran a hand through my hair as I sat back in my chair, quickly releasing her hand as I did so, hoping Mira had missed it.

I felt relief soak into my body as she turned to leave the infirmary, before she paused at the door and faced me with a serious expression.

'Whatever you say Laxus. It's unhealthy, but I'll let you lie to yourself for now. Just remember, you're going to have to see them together _every day_. You sure you can handle that?' I stared at her, my face in that expressionless mask I'd cultured over years of learning to ignore the whispers behind my back.

'That's _if_ she wakes up.' I said, staring down at her face and waiting for the sound of Mira's retreating footsteps.

As she walked away, I closed my eyes and allowed one last tear of regret to slip from my eyes.

One last tear of sorrow and loss, because even if she woke up, I'd never have her the way I'd grown to dream of.

One last time, would I allow myself to shed tears over the love I knew I would never find the like of again, even if I searched every nook and crevice of the world, this was it.

This would be the last time I would imagine me with her, the last time I would allow my fantasies to run riot in my mind; thinking of her touch, her kiss, her love being all mine and mine alone... after this night, I would never think of her this way again.

She'd be my little sister blondie who was dating my best friend, the only guy in the world I'd ever give her up to; the only guy who could love her more than me.

'I love you...' I almost wanted to snatch the whispered words back from the air, but they fell on deaf ears and I felt relief wash over my body.

She'd never know, which is exactly what I wanted. If she knew, she'd make things awkward, or feel guilty and might hurt Bix... which is the one thing I never wanted to do.

'You make him better Lucy. You make him into a stronger, braver person... please, don't ever hurt him. He's had the most bullshit past of almost everyone, and has carried that guilt with him forever. I think... you take that away... you're the light to his pains darkness... so please wake up before he does, so he doesn't feel responsible for you being like this. It'll kill him inside...' II choked on my words, forcing the liquid to stay in my eyes, refusing to let myself cry any more.

'I swear to you, right now. I'm going to get stronger. I will never let you get taken like that again, and I will destroy anyone who threatens your happiness with him. I will shield you both, from anyone and anything. I promise. So wake up soon, you got it blondie?' I glared down at her, hoping she would shoot upright and kick me into the wall for calling her blondie again, only to get no reaction from her sleeping body.

I sighed again, sitting back in the comfy chair to fall asleep, keeping a close vigil over my two charges.

My promise began now, and I would carry it out till I died.

They would never feel the pain of not having the one they love beside them, like I do now.

They need each other, and I will never allow them to get hurt or separated.

The dragon in my purred with satisfaction; this is what he was meant for, this is what he and I needed, something, someone to _protect_.


	47. Chapter 47

**A/N: **Okay guys, glad you all enjoyed last chapter, now here's some more! :) It's later than I wanted it to be, I've been busy over the past few days, but here ya go! :) Bixy is so cute... :) xx

Enjoy guys! :) xx

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**Evergreen's POV**

I looked across the bed at Bix. He'd woken up a few months ago, and since then hadn't left her side for a moment. Laxus had left after he'd woken up, trying to distance himself from Lucy.

I knew he was out se4arching Magnolia for any form of magic that could help her wake up sooner, anything that would awaken her. Freed had accompanied him to try and keep his head on straight, and I'd stayed behind to look after Bix.

I remembered the day he woke up.

I'd heard him shouting from downstairs, and myself and Freed had ran up to see what was wrong, only to find Bix screaming for her, begging for her to open her eyes and swearing at himself, raging with his figure eyes out of control.

It broke my heart to see him this hurt.

We knew he wouldn't take it well; that he'd blame himself that she was like this, when he was her saviour. Laxus held him as he yelled and raged, easily restraining his straining body as he reached out to her. Eventually, Laxus had calmed him down, but he refused to leave her side, and took Laxus's chair to sit next to her, clinging onto her limp hand like a life line.

Since then, he hasn't left for more than a few hours, even then only under orders and leaving her under Laxus's care. He didn't trust anyone else with her.

I settled down into the comfy plush chair which had been moved into the infirmary so Lucy's visitors could sit in comfort when they spoke to her.

'You humans she knows need to speak to her, she can hear and it might give her some comfort. NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!' Porlyusica's words had caused the guild to begin rushing up to the infirmary, desperate and uncontrolled as they wanted to speak to her to reassure her they were there for her and missed her.

Of course, Master had forced some kind of order in place and restricted visitors to a minimum, only Team Natsu and the Raijinshuu being allowed to visit, along with Levy, Mira, Cana and Juvia. Basically, the people he considered closest to Lucy carried messages from the other guild members and spoke to her almost constantly.

Team Natsu also took it upon themselves to keep her apartment under her lease, paying her rent for her. The Raijinshuu and Laxus however, we decided we would send money to Lucy's orphanage, to that Julia woman at every chance we got.

I had visited them only last week with a cheque from the last mission me, Freed and Laxus had completed, visiting the kids and taking back recorded lacrima messages for Lucy. They had been devastated to hear she was ill, but had jumped at the chance to create hundreds of get well cards and make her piles of presents.

Every time I visited, they asked whether she was nearly better yet, and I said every time, she'll be awake soon. It killed me to say that to those hopeful faces, and watch as their smiles dropped and they walked away dejected, some of the younger ones crying.

I'd heard some of their stories during my visits; about how Lucy had appeared with her spirits like an angel to defeat the monsters and dark mages or guilds that had massacred their village, or killed their parents. How she'd held them in her arms and told them they were safe, how she took them here and stayed with them for a few days to help them settle in, before having to leave to help other children.

These young children had already seen so much loss of life, and experienced such pain. I didn't know if they could cope with losing the one person who had been the light during their darkest hours.

I looked over at Bix to see he'd fallen asleep, his head resting on the bed beside her hand which he clutched gently between his large ones.

I smiled sadly as I leant forwards and carefully hugged Lucy, careful not to dislodge the tubes that ran out of her body.

'Lucy, please wake up soon. So many of us need you.' I backed away, careful my elbow or clothes didn't catch any of the delicate tubes that helped her live.

I looked across at Bix, and smiled sadly before silently leaving the infirmary, leaving him sleeping beside the one woman he loved more than life itself.

**Bickslow's POV**

I'd woken up over three months ago, and she still lay here, sleeping now with tubes sticking out of her arms and a mask feeding her body with oxygen, plastered on her face.

Wendy and Porlyusica have maintained a constant vigil over her; Porlyusica unwillingly moving into the room next door to the infirmary at the Master's request for her to treat Lucy. They came in every few hours to move her body, stretching out her legs and arms as well as rolling her over to avoid sores from developing on her creamy skin.

She never moved, she didn't speak, she didn't wake.

She breathed through that damn mask, appearing relaxed in sleep.

'I was afraid this would happen when you brought her back.' First's voice sounded beside me, and I turned to look at her. Ever had left during some time I'd been asleep, and I'd been alone with Lucy as usual. I frowned at First, her serious expression making me worry more than I had before.

'What do you mean Master?' I asked, my voice trembling of it's own volition before I could restrain the fear that seems to pulse through my body.

'The magic of Tenrou is pure magic, and it was forcibly fused inside her, practically making her an overpowered human missile. That old man was going to use her to fire that pure magic at Fairy Tail, destroying the entire guild and all the members in one fell swoop. So much magic around everything would cause our magical containers to explode inside of us and kill us instantly. Well, you seeing as I'm already dead.' She giggled slightly, floating as she swung her feet in the air as though she was on an invisible chair in the air.

'How come she's still alive then?' I managed to choke out, turning to stare at Lucy's unconscious body.

'Well, her magic had already fused with some of the Tenrou magic, so her body was more accepting of the whole amount, which is why the dark guild needed her rather than anyone else. Her body was capable of containing the magic for a short period before releasing it uncontrollably. She's incredibly lucky to be alive, and so are you.' I shut my eyes and focused on breathing, calming my hammering heart beat back to a normal pace.

'First... will she wake up? Please... tell me.' I didn't receive a reply for a while, and felt my hand tighten around her small, unmoving one, clinging onto her for she was my hope, the single thing that connected me to life and sanity. Without her, everything was meaningless again.

Finally, First replied.

'Yes, she will. You need to give her time, and she will. You've already saved her once, Bickslow. She'll find her way back to you, just talk to her, let her know you're still here. She can't see you sit beside her, but she can hear you my child.' I heard her giggle before she faded away.

I opened my eyes and stared down at her face, taking in every inch of her into my memory, forging it into my mind. Her soft skin that looked and felt like satin, her rosy lips that looked and tasted delicious against my own...

'Hey cosplayer. I've been sitting here for a while now, waiting for ya to wake up... I miss you love, so you got to come back soon, alright? I... damn I'm not good at this talking stuff... just, please, Lucy... wake up soon, alright?' The tears I hadn't been able to shed since seeing her like this finally broke free of the barrier I'd placed around my mind that protected me against the thought and idea of her being like this forever...

I sobbed like a baby, burying my face into her stomach and inhaling her unique, sweet smell that I'd grown to love.

I felt my totems nudge against my face, gently shoving me so I'd sit up. They pushed forward to rest against my chest, trying to offer me some form of silent comfort. I smiled down at them and gave them each a pat on their heads, watching as they visibly cheered up at the first smile I'd shown in months.

I reached out and ran a finger along her cheek, memorising the soft silk beneath my hands, committing every single detail into my mind as I stared down at her calm face that slumbered peacefully, unaware of anything outside of her dreams, except possibly the sounds of our voices.

'Listen close now Lucy love, I'll wait for you, however long it takes. I'll wait till you wake up, cause I won't accept the idea that you won't, you hear me love? I need you, Laxus needs you, so do Evergreen, Freed and the entire guild! That damned flame-brain's more depressed than Erza is, and she's still not eaten a crumb of cake for months waiting for you! Cana's even sober, you hear me? I know, I didn't believe it either, but she's not drunk a drop since you've been like this. It's too damn quiet without you love, so get your ass back here and wake up before I force you up. I know you're ticklish, so I'll give you another week before the tickle-attack commences, you hear me?' I smiled down at her, stroking small circles into her palm as I let the tears slide down my cheeks silently.

I leant crawled onto the bed beside her, careful not to nudge any of the needles in her arms, and placed one arm across her waist, hugging my body to hers, moulding myself to fit around her unconscious form. I rest my face on the pillow beside hers, my mouth beside her ear as I whispered desperately to her, closing my eyes to allow the last tears to escape.

'Please... come back to me love.' I stoked a hand through her soft golden hair, and gradually found myself slipping off to sleep as I breathed in her fresh smell that reminded me of vanilla.

'Please love... wake up.' I mumbled, finally falling prey to the exhaustion that had weighed heavily on my body over the past few weeks as I refused to sleep, and only watched over her.

Finally, I slept, holding her tightly against me and refusing to release her.

**Lucy's POV**

I was surrounded by darkness... floating in silence and nothingness.

Any noises that permeated my opaque surroundings were dull and muffled, like I was listening to someone speak to me while I was underwater...

I flailed around, desperate to reach the voices that were calling out to me, trying to understand what they were saying to me, screaming for them to speak louder...

I heard voice I recognised... Gray, Erza, Mira, Ever, Laxus... Bix...

I reached out my hand to what looked like a faint light far above me, miles and miles away, like a star in a pitch black night sky twinkling from a billion light-years away... desperately, I reached for it, knowing that it would be futile.

Suddenly, his voice became louder...

_Please...come back to me love..._

I felt my eyes widen as I renewed my efforts to reach that almost non-existent pinprick of light that stretched out far, far away from me.

_Please love... wake up..._

I narrowed my eyes, and started to work my way towards the light, now determined.

Bix sounded sad, and I was the cause of it...

_I'm coming Bixy... I'll be back soon, just wait a little longer..._


	48. Chapter 48

**A/N: **Please remember, if you haven't voted in the current poll about my next story, please do! At the moment, here is the score:

1- Laxus

2- Mystogan

3- Bickslow

3- Freed (joint third with Bix)

4- Gajeel

5- Cobra 

I state once again, I'm **not** taking Nalu, Rolu or Sticy requests for this next one, or Zerlu or Midlu. :P

OKAY, so enjoy this chapter! I felt soooo awesome writing this! Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I loved writing it!

(btw, if anyone want's a good bad-ass song to listen to while writing bad-ass scenes, I recommend "Mz Hyde" by Halestorm!) ;) XD xx

Please remember to review too! makes me smile! :3

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**No-one's POV**

Lahar stormed into Fairy Tail, glaring at every mage he passed as he stalked up towards Master Makarov's office, disregarding Mirajane's friendly hello, and not noticing the depressing aura that kept Fairy Tail from its usual levels of rowdiness.

Doranbolt scurried after Lahar, frowning as he definitely noticed the quiet guild, which from his own experience was usually rowdier than a festival every day.

'MAKAROV!' Lahar shouted as he burst through Master's office door, making the little man jump in his seat as he smiled widely at the council member. Laxus, who was sitting at his own desk in Makarov's office, merely jerked his head upwards in acknowledgment of the council member's arrival before focusing on the music blaring from his sound pod.

'Makarov... what is the meaning of this?' Lahar growled, slamming onto Makarov's desk a collection of pictures, before jerking his hand back and folding his arms across his chest, glaring down at the man irately.

Master picked up the photographs and frowned, before placing them softly back on the desk.

'It appears to be a person, very badly beaten I must say, but I don't see what relevance this has to your storming into my office in this manner.' Makarov folded his own arms, staring down the man who stood a head or two taller than him, even while the small old man stood on his desk.

Lahar wasn't intimidated despite the great reputation of the Wizard Saint before him, as the intimidating effect of his glare was lessened by the orange and blue Jester's hat that had little gold bells on the ends.

'This man was dropped off outside the council yesterday by a certain spirit who is an ex-member of Fairy Tail, and who now belongs to one of _your_ mages. This man was _begging_ for us to _kill him_; which leads me to question the sanity of your celestial mage and the reason for such brutality!'

_3 Months Earlier Earthland Time- One Day Spirit World Time_

Loke appeared in the realm with the pathetic excuse for a human being, immediately finding himself surrounded by the majority of the Zodiac and some of Lucy's Silver keys.

The mage whimpered as he looked around him, one eye completely closed from a black eye, and the rest of his body covered in cuts, scratches and bruises that seems to obliterate his pale skin.

His hair in some places was stained red from his own blood, and his nose had been broken several times.

'Nick!' Loke snapped, throwing the mage on the ground as Nick appeared, smirking evilly before kneeling at the mages side and healing him quickly.

'W-what are you doing?' The mage asked, feeling the pain from his injuries fade before disappearing. Nick chuckled darkly.

'How are we supposed to hurt you if you're already in pain?' The mage paled before fighting against the restraints that had appeared on his wrists upon entry to the celestial realm.

'Old Friends. It is a crime to bring a human unconnected to our realm here.' The spirit king's voice seemed to echo in the air as he appeared in his gigantic form, his arms folded as he looked down at the spirits seriously.

'Your Highness.' Loke bowed, before grinning up at the man, communicating with their eyes, before the spirit king's gaze hardened as he turned to face the human who lay on the ground being healed by Nick.

Xavier himself was trembling from fear, though he felt a smirk itch its way up to his face; he knew how serious it was to break a celestial law, he'd been keeping track of Lucy during the whole crisis, and their guild was far too loud to keep secrets.

'I believe I have a celestial council to distract for a day. I shall talk to you later, old friends. _They_ are on their way. Give my best to my dear friend when she returns from her slumber.' The king grinned, his giant moustache lifting to reveal a set of huge teeth that bared themselves aggressively down at the human, before he turned and disappeared.

Xavier felt his blood freeze as the last ache that plagued him disappeared.

'He's all better now guys. Lt's have some fun before _they_ arrive.' Nick stepped away, grinning with a fiery evil glint in his eyes.

Loke grabbed Xavier by his shirt collar and threw him towards the spirits that were assembled.

'Ebi-'

'Moshi-moshi!'

'We are!'

'Tch!'

'Lucy-sama...'

Loke smirked as the zodiac spirits present stepped forwards to deal their own personal vengeance against the person who'd caused their master such pain; not only physically, but he'd betrayed her trust as well.

'I knew there was something wrong with this guy.' He muttered to himself as he stared on emotionlessly as the man cried out from receiving the punches and hits the spirits laid on him.

'You were just upset cause he had a pretty face Lucy liked.' Nick teased slightly, glaring at the now screaming "pretty face" who by the end of this wouldn't have that title any longer.

'Hurry up, you should get in your turn before _they_ get here, moshi-moshi.' Sagittarius had finished his own form of revenge; the mage now had a few arrows implanted around his nerve points, causing the most unimaginable pain when the arrows shifted slightly to cut off the nerves and give him momentary relief, only to receive the same pain again when the arrows shifted again.

'I'll wait till Aquarius is down. I don't want to get in the way of her at the moment...' Nick muttered, looking at the mermaid spirit who was repeatedly slamming her jug against the humans face over and over again before blasting high powered jest of water in a region most men do not want high powered jets of water to go...

Too late! We aree-!' Scorpio smirked as he walked past them, gesturing to the group who had finally arrived...

'Su-miii-maaa-seeennnn...'

'Punishment?'

'Heheheheee!'

'Pun-puuunnnn...'

'It's always the quiet ones, correct Leo-sama?' Capricorn muttered, flexing his hands under the metal spiked, bloodied gloves he rarely ever used in battle.

Loke shuddered as he turned to face the four spirits you did not want to anger...

Scorpio had already peeled a fuming and screaming Aquarius off of the mage, who had found himself chained to a wall all of a sudden, looking down at the leader of the zodiacs, who casually pushed his sunglasses up his nose and smirked at the human.

'You know, all magic granted to humans comes as a blessing from the stars? No? Well, not only have you angered us, but you've also angered the Spirit King, who does _love_ our Lucy-sama. Now, here's where you're _incredibly_ unlucky, because you've _also_ angered the spirit whose sign you were blessed under, and she is _the one_ and _only_ spirit you _reeeally_ don't want to piss off. You saw how painful it was for our Lucy-sama to have magic _forced_ into her, well, I'll tell you right now, scumbag, it is _a thousand times worse_ to have it ripped away...' Loke stepped back grinning as he registered the utter terror that had slammed into Xavier's face as he looked up to see four spirits step towards him.

Xavier recognised the maid spirit the blonde had used to set up camp, but her eyes were now pure red and she carried and swung a lead pipe from her manacled wrists, muttering over and over under her breath: "Punishment... punishment..."

Beside her, floated a couple of alien like creatures, who's bug eyes were also blood red, and they seemed to combine into one floating thing before changing into himself, and he looked at his face as it laughed at him.

Next came a small snowman like creature, it's black emotionless eyes making it seem manic as it skipped about holding two extremely large butchers knives...

Finally, came the scariest creature Xavier had seen.

What looked like a ram stepped forwards, its wool blacker than night and it's eyes completely red, it's horns reaching far back from its head and reaching a sharp, lethal point. Her skin was pale white, and she seemed to stagger forward as her head hung to one side, lengthening out her words in a low, quiet voice.

'Suuuu-miiii-maaa-seeennnn!' Xavier felt his body trembling as he suffered through the pain the three spirits put him through, his gaze not leaving the sheep zodiac that stood stock still, staring straight into his dark, evil soul with her terrifying gaze, her voice curdling his blood within his body as she repeated that one word once again.

'Suuuu-miiiii-maaaaa-seeennnnnn!' Finally, the Lion held up a hand and stopped the other three, before nodding once.

'You may begin, Aries.' The woman stopped mid-word, before grinning manically and cackling before lunging forwards, making the humans screams echo throughout their realm as she destroyed every ounce of magic inside of him, ripping it out particle by dreaded particle as she sliced her long, sharp nails across his already bleeding and bloodied skin.

It seemed like it took forever before Xavier's screams ended, his voice box breaking under the immense strain, leaving his screams silent as his body allowed his pain to be expressed through thrashing against this restraints. His neck muscles stretched as he ground his head against the wall behind him, his mouth elongated into a permanent scream that had no sound, the only sound being the dripping of his blood and the cackles of Aries, who had entered a mindless state of anger and pure unadulterated fury at the harm this man had lead her honest, kind master into. He was the lure that trapped her, the reason she had been taken; despite the kindness she had bestowed upon his unworthy self, despite the smiles she had gifted him with, he betrayed her and harmed her in a way no-one could ever understand. Aries felt it though.

She felt that betrayal deep within her heart, and had been teetering on the edge, before jumping off when she saw his disgraceful face.

She was ashamed he had been born under her sign; ashamed that he had been blessed with magic under her zodiac.

'I'm taking it back; you are no longer a mage, you are nothing but scum.' Aries whispered into Xavier's ear, before violently tearing out the final speck of magic that hid itself within his mangled body, causing his voice to finally rip free of its own restraints and tear through the air.

Aries grinned before turning and walking away, past the other zodiacs who looked on emotionlessly. Aquarius somehow managed to get in one final attack of salt water over the fresh wounds, causing the human to whimper desperately.

'Take out the trash brother.' Aries muttered to Loke before storming away, Virgo, Gemini and Plue following her close behind.

'Damn, I never want to make them angry.' Nick whispered, looking after the trio as they walked away to put away their torturous implements they'd cracked out for the occasion.

'Come on scumbag, you have a date with the magic council prisons for the next, oh, forever.' Loke chuckled before he disappeared and dropped the human off outside the doors of the magic council, shocking Lahar and Doranbolt who were just coming off duty after a long day of paperwork and pointless meetings. Loke smirked up at their shocked faces.

'Have fun with this one.' He said, before returning back to the celestial realm to let the spirit king know he no longer had to entertain the celestial council, and that one less evil monster roamed the earth with magic.

_Back in Makarov's Office, Present Day_

Lahar glared down at Makarov, his face flushed with anger and his eyes glinting with outrage at the torture the man had suffered through.

Makarov had turned darkly serious at the mention of Lucy, and Laxus had yanked off his sound pod to glare and growl at the council member, cracking his knuckles dangerously and making Doranbolt shudder slightly in fear. He knew of the old, crazy Laxus, and this guy who was glaring at them right now, looked an awful lot like him.

Lahar however didn't notice the deadly aura that had settled over the office.

'I would appreciate it, councilman if you did not speak of one of my children in such a tone, and advise you to sit and listen to what I have to say.' Finally, Lahar sensed the murderous aura that pulsed off of Laxus and slowly sat down, warily watching the lightning dragon slayer from the corner of his eye and making sure Doranbolt had a hold on his cloak so they could teleport at a moment's notice.

Master Makarov then regaled Lahar and Doranbolt with the kidnapping and magical torture Lucy had suffered through, making Lahar's face look like he was sucking on a lemon as his frown deepened.

'So the barely alive man that Loke dropped off for us, was a dark mage who had participated in illicit activities?' He asked Makarov, flicking through the pictures that had been taken of the mangled excuse of a human that sat in an ever growing pool of blood and dripping salt water.

'Yes.' Makarov answered, his tone tired and serious as he rubbed a hand over his face, the jester's hat he favoured now removed from his head and his large bald patch glowing slightly under the light of the room.

'I would still like to speak to Miss Heartfilia in order to gain an understanding over the treatment of criminals.' Lahar sensed he'd touched on a sensitive subject when Makarov turned away, ensuring his eyes were in shadow and Laxus's constant low growls were cut off.

'Blondie didn't tell 'em to do anything to him. She's been in a coma ever since. The spirits took it into their own hands, shame they left him alive.' Laxus muttered, glaring at the photographs with disdain and pure hatred, making both Lahar and Doranbolt feel as though they were in a small room with a rabid, wild beast.

It was clear he was very protective over the Heartfilia woman.

'Hmm.. though I cannot agree with the methods used by Fairy tail and the spirits in question, we have no jurisdiction over other realms or worlds, so no punishment can be meted out. However, Miss Heartfilia will need to ensure her spirits understand the severity of the incidence, and that should it occur again, Miss Heartfilia will be banned from participating in magic.' This statement earned a loud growl from Laxus, which was cut off with a raised hand from Makarov.

'I sense you have more to say, Lahar?' Makarov said, turning to face the council members with his serious expression once more in place, though it was clear he had wiped away a few tears at the thought of one of his children still in a condition he had no control over.

Yes. I wish to know why you didn't report this to the council immediately after it had occurred.' Makarov suddenly felt a sweat form on his brow and itched at his head before answering.

'I should have informed the council, however I was far too worried about one of my brats to concern myself with paperwork.' Lahar nodded his head in understanding before crossing his arms and feeling an evil smirk want to make its way up to his face.

'Well, Makarov, it seems you have come off rather easy from this. We cannot give punishment to a girl in a coma, nor beings from another world. Gildarts is nowhere to be found either. Did I forget to mention an entire mountain was virtually removed from the landscape during Fairy Tail's attack on this dark guild?' Makarov paled considerably at Lahar's words, and sweat seemed to pour down his face as he stared at the smiling council member.

'Yes, it's true. Also, that mountain was a historical site that was under the protection of the Zentopian Church as a site of ancient religious worship; the tunnels and caverns of the mountain contained old scriptures and drawings, _all_ of which have been destroyed by flames, cracked by ice expanding in the cracks, or obliterated into dust by crash magic. I hope you realise how much paperwork is involved in not only the notification of and redrawing of Fiore's maps, but also the paperwork that must be made out for the Zentopian Archbishop and historical research society for this destruction of our lands great history?' Makarov by now had fallen back and was sitting on his desk and staring at Lahar in horror with an underlying hatred.

He spluttered desperately, before groaning and slumping back to lie down and stare at his ceiling, tears running down the sides of his face as Lahar continued talking,.

'I see that pile of finally completed work behind you Makarov. Let me just say, the amount coming your way for this one incident will make that amount look like a child's homework. Take this as our punishment, and our warning; don't let Gildarts run rampant without his seal again, please.' Lahar had stood and was now at the door his hand on the handle with Doranbolt behind him, desperate to escape the wrath of Laxus and the depressing aura that cloyed to his clothes from Makarov.

'Please, give my regards to Miss Heartfilia. We at the council greatly respect and admire her, for various reasons. I hope she returns to us soon.' Lahar's voice cracked slightly, before he stormed out, Doranbolt at his heels as he shouted back at Makarov.

'Enjoy your paperwork, Master of Fairy Tail!'


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N: **Here ya go lovies! Just read this now, FAIR WARNING, I got teary eyes while WRITING THIS, SO GOOD LUCK. :'(

Please remember to review if ya feel like it, and remember to vote in the poll if you haven't already! I may be starting the draft version sooner, cause now I have my new laptop up and working with Office docs (yayyy!) so have written one paragraph, but I NEED TO KNOW WHO THE GUY IS! XD

SO, vote away and tell your friends to vote! XD ;)

Enjoy! xxx

* * *

**Bickslow's POV**

I ran a hand through my hair as I sighed and looked down at her sleeping form. I blinked my new fringe out of my eyes, and agitatedly pushed the long strands out of my way, again running my fingers through my much longer over all hair. I'd rarely left her side, and couldn't be bothered to go to a barbers to get my usual Mohawk tended to, so I let it grow into an unruly mess, and now it was just a bit longer than Natsu's hair, and just as messy, spiking out in every direction. Mira had pretty much attacked me with scissors to cut away the longer bits that remained from my Mohawk, and squealed for some reason before fainting, mumbling incoherently about babies...

I didn't really care what I looked like now, I didn't care about hair, clothes, nothing. All I cared about was when her eyes would open up, and when her face would split into that 50 watt smile I'd fallen for without even noticing. She'd become as necessary to my life as oxygen. Without her, I might as well be dead; hell, I was halfway towards it with her in this state, not being able to do a single thing apart from watch over her.

I reached out for her hand and carefully placed it between mine, my darker, tanned skin and calloused fingers running against her porcelain pale, satin soft palm.

I smiled as I looked down at her arm, my eyes tracking the path of pale veins that ran beneath her skin at her wrists, before they were hidden from sight by her flesh. I thanked Mavis every time I saw her breathe, and thanked any and all God's that existed that her blood still ran through those veins, meaning she was living and here with me.

I'd come far too close to losing her. Far, far too close.

My heart still ached when I remembered her bloodied and bruised body resting against me, her freezing cold hand pressed to my face and held there only by my own muscles, not by her own decision when I'd desperately tried to convince myself she was still with me.

I would never forget her ice cold skin, leaving chills running over my warm flesh.

I'd never allow that to happen again.

I leant forwards and rest my head on the bed beside her arm, closing my eyes before drifting to sleep, still clutching on to her hand as though to ensure she didn't leave me... again.

* * *

'Bix...Bix... BIX!' I jerked upright, blinking blearily before rubbing my hand across my unfocused eyes.

Suddenly, I felt my body jerk as I looked into those caramel eyes that I'd only dreamed of, twinkling with laughter as she smiled warmly at me, before reaching up a hand to stroke across my face. I closed my eyes in bliss as I felt her skin stroke again my stubbled cheek, and grabbed it her hand, pressing it harder against my face to tell myself this was real.

I felt tears escape from my eyes as I looked at her through the blurriness, taking in the unfocused image of her golden blonde hair and that beautiful smile.

'Bix...' I shook my head and grabbed her hand tighter in mine, revelling in the feel of her touch, the smell of her skin, the sound of her voice...

'Lucy...' I choked out a whisper, the words I wanted to say unable to escape the emotional confines of my throat that seized up before I could say anything.

She was back... she was here... finally...

'Bix!' Her voice sounded annoyed, and I felt her spare hand pinch my arm, but ignored it, jerking my arm away from her reach as I felt my hand tighten around hers, resting it against my forehead.

'BIX!'

* * *

I jerked awake, my eyes immediately going to her face, only to see her still asleep. I felt my heart drop as I turned to face Ever.

I'd been dreaming of her being awake for months now, but it felt so real, every time I actually woke up and she wasn't awake, I sank into a silent depression.

'Bix, you need to go eat something. If she wakes up and sees you like this she'll kill us both you know.' I slowly turned back from staring at her eyes to look at Ever. I could see the concern beneath her authoritative and commanding stance and voice, but sighed, hunching over slightly as I felt the weight of everything pull down on my body.

'It was bad enough seeing her like this, but it was worse dreaming of her coming back, only to wake up like she couldn't, and find her still asleep.

'Same dream again?' She whispered, kneeling down beside me. Wordlessly, I nodded, not even looking at her. Ever was the only one I'd told about my dreams.

I saw Laxus a lot, he kept me company and we sat silently watching her. I couldn't tell him about my dreams, I didn't want to appear weak before the one man I admired above all else; old habits die hard I guess.

I couldn't tell Freed, he would start suggesting different pills to take to help me sleep, or various spells or runes to stop me dreaming or something.

Ever, I wouldn't have told, but she caught me asleep and heard me muttering her name and crying in my sleep. She didn't leave me alone till I told her why, and since then she's been keeping a close eye on me.

'I'm not leaving.' I mumbled to her, my voice hoarse from the lack of speaking. My babies nudged against my arm, making me turn to face an irate and glaring Ever, who had stood up and had her fists planted against her hips.

'Bickslow, if you don't get your depressing big butt downstairs and get a big breakfast from Mira, I'm going to kick you out and lock the door till you do so, you hear me?' I blinked and sighed again, running a hand through my fringe again.

_I should at least get Mira to cut this a bit... it keeps getting in my eyes._ I bent my head forwards slightly to allow my stupid fringe to hide my eyes as I nodded, knowing Ever would actually kick me out if I ignored her again.

Last time didn't end nicely.

Slowly, I stood up from the arm chair, my babies hovering beside my head as I stretched out, my spine and other bones popping and clicking, protesting at the movement.

I looked at Ever, and saw her smile slightly up at me.

'I'll watch her for you.' I nodded my thanks before walking out of the infirmary, and making my way down the stairs, taking in the half-rowdy guild.

Everyone was affected by her absence; there were far fewer fights and brawls, though sometimes Gray and Natsu inevitably got into a fight, before they'd suddenly remember Lucy's condition upstairs, and sank into a depressed puddle on the floor, making Lisanna fuss over them till Erza came over from her cake catalogue and punched them both. Rather than eat cakes, she'd taken to staring at elaborate cake designs and commanding the suppliers to create her certain masterpieces when her friend awoke.

I walked over to the bar and grunted at Mira. She turned to me, and gave me a surprised, yet warm smile, before she walked away to make me up a meal.

I turned away and looked around the guild, taking in the different changes in our members.

Cana had halved the amount she drunk daily, making her pretty much sober by Cana standards. Wendy was pretty much permanently upstairs near the infirmary, looking at her watch all the time to ensure she was on time to give Lucy her exercises, and Happy rarely spoke about fish, preferring to sit dejectedly in a corner with Natsu.

Natsu rarely went on missions, and pretty much was always at the guild, staring down at the wood grain of the table he sat up, fiddling with the ends of his scarf.

I stood, and walked over to where Freed sat at our usual table, his head in a medical spell book, scanning every single page, sentence and syllable for a hint at how to awaken coma patients with rune magic.

I sat beside him, grunting a hello as I slung an arm behind the back of my chair, still looking around the guild as Freed placed his book on the table and removed the gale force glasses he'd been reading with.

'How are you Bickslow?' Freed asked, staring at me with his usual serious demeanour in place, but I could feel the pity coming off of him. I felt my jaw tighten involuntarily and ground my teeth together, nodding sharply and facing away from him, staring over at Mira as she placed my food on a plate.

I felt Freed pat my back awkwardly, before returning to reading his damned book.

I glared at guild members who sent me curious and sorrow filled looks, itching to return to Lucy's side. I hated the looks they shot me.

They had no right to feel pity for me; she was alive, sure she was asleep, but she was fucking alive. There was _no reason_ for them to feel sorry for me.

She was with us still, in the land of the living, so why the glances and the whispers, the fear that they would upset me.

They all found out about my feelings for Lucy, and her feelings for me if what she said before dying was anything to go by.

_Calm down Bix... just grab the food, eat it up and go back upstairs so Ever doesn't murder you._ I watched as Mira brought over my plate piled high with bacon, eggs, hash browns and grilled tomatoes. I felt my mouth water at the smell of the delicious food placed in front of me, and nodded my thanks to Mira as I picked up the knife and fork she had brought over with her, before starting to shovel the food into my mouth.

I glanced over at Mira when I saw she hadn't left and raised an eyebrow, but it was hidden by my hair; gotta get it cut soon.

'Bickslow, please know, we're here for you.' I felt her hand on my shoulder, and felt myself freeze up.

Deep inside my mind, I knew she was only trying to help, only trying to make me feel less alone in my grief and constant vigil over Lucy, the woman I'd bared my heart and soul to, and who I loved unconditionally. Deep inside, I knew that.

But right then, all I could feel was the pity that reeled off of her in waves, and rage grew inside me, all the frustration and pain and guilt I felt was released in one moment.

I slammed my fists against the table, the fork and knife clenched tightly in my hands so the skin was white; later I would find the indentations in my palms where I'd clutched them.

The guild became silent, which seemed to happen a lot these days, as I threw the cutlery on to the plate still half filled with food and stood up, shrugging Mira's hand off of my shoulder and glaring down at her shocked face as she stepped backwards.

'Stop, pitying me. All of you, quit it with the sympathy act. She's alive up there, and you're all treating me like glass, as though she's fucking died! WELL SHE'S NOT, SO STOP FUCKING AROUND!' I ended up shouting, not only glaring at Mira as tears tracked their way down her cheeks, but glaring at everyone in the guild.

I would have carried on, if Freed hadn't at that moment grabbed my shoulder.

Instinctively, I turned and threw my fist into his face, sending him flying backwards and into the wall, breaking his glasses and making blood gush from his nose.

Everyone stood there shocked for a moment, including me as I stared at Freed as he struggled to sit upright, staring at me emotionlessly.

I shook all over, my fists trembling at my sides as I bent my head forward and allowed my new hair to cover my face, leaving my tear filled eyes in the shadow, unseen by the people who rushed to help Freed upright.

I let out a shaky breath and turned away, walking back up the stairs as I felt all eyes on me, burning holes into my back.

I shut my eyes and allowed one tear to slip out as I reached the second floor and walked to the back and into one of the private rooms reserved for me.

I instantly stripped down and climbed into the shower of the small en-suite, turning on the scalding hot water and allowing it to burn my skin, trying to wash away my anger and pain.

I watched as my tears mingled with the shower spray, heavy torrents of water pouring off of my hair as I placed both hands against the wall and looked down at the shower floor, breathing heavily and calming my pounding heart.

_Did I just fucking punch Freed?_ I thought to myself, utterly shocked by my actions. I'd _never_ hit anyone in the Thunder Legion. They'd been the only people to ever of accepted me and my freaky ass magic that makes people think I'm going to make them part of some imaginary army of mind-controlled soldiers. They were my first and only friends till she helped us reach out to others... till she made me see beyond the walls I'd built to keep myself safe.

I felt my heart breaking as I ran both hands through my hair and lifted my head to look directly into the hot spray, closing my eyes as the water poured over my face, washing away any evidence of the tears that were flowing down my face.

'Lucy... please come back... please... don't leave me alone any more for fucks sake, come back to me...' My body shook as I sobbed silently into the pounding water droplets, resting my forehead against the wall and hitting it against the cold, steamed up tiles.

'Lucy... please...' I choked on my own voice as sadness grabbed my voice with its gnarled, contagious hand and twisted, making me let out an uncontrolled and heart-wrenching sob that released the pent up frustration I'd kept hidden till now.

I felt the pain and loneliness deep in my stomach as I punched my fist against the shower wall, not breaking the tile or even cracking it; I just needed to do something to release my pain.

Slowly, I stumbled backwards and leant my back against the shower wall, staring upwards at the steam that snaked its way through the air, before I slowly slid down to the ground so I clutched my arms around my legs, drawing them close to my body so I was in a ball. My head fell forward so my shut eyes were on my knees, and I proceeded to cry like a baby as I begged and begged for her to come back... desperate to return to being me rather than whatever I'd become in the long months of waiting and waiting.

'Lucy...' My voice cracked and I cried out her name desperately, drawing in gasping breathes through my mouth as I tried to release the grip sorrow had on my throat, restraining and changing my voice as I cried for her.

**Evergreen's POV**

I sat in the chair Bix had vacated, and sighed, looking sadly down at Lucy's peaceful face.

The only sound that filled the room was the casual and annoying beeps of the heart rate monitor, and the wheezing sounds of the oxygen being pumped into the mask that covered her mouth and nose.

'He misses you so much Lucy.' I whispered, leaning back in the chair and staring at her sadly.

'He's a shell now... he never leaves your side if he doesn't have to. I can count on one hand how many times he's left this room in the past four months... gotta say though, his new hair suits him nicely. One good thing comes out of this at least, huh?' I laughed, but the sound was hollow; emotionless.

'Lucy, please, if not for me or yourself, come back for him. He loves you more than any of us realised, more than you could ever know, so don't let him be alone for much longer. He can't cope with it.' I coughed and blinked rapidly to hold back the emotions that wanted to escape.

'It's hard for us all. Not only have we not got you, but we're losing Bix as well. He never laughs, or sticks out his stupid tongue any more. His babies don't speak either, they don't say a thing. Everyone's waiting Lucy, so wake up before we go insane, please. Bix is so close to the edge right now, and he's not coming back till you do, you hear my Heartfilia? This is an order from the true Queen of the Fairies, wake you're pretty little ass up, you got it?' I watched her intently, praying and praying for a small, minute reaction that told me she heard me, a sign that said she was nearly there.

I sighed in disappointment as I saw nothing of the like, and looked up at the ceiling; analysing the paint dots and counting them as I waited for Bix to come back.

I didn't have to wait long, as I heard the door open and his familiar tread pattern walk across the room to sit in the chair opposite me.

I opened my eyes and smiled at him, noticing the damp hair that clung to his forehead and stuck up in every different direction in a messy tangle of spikes.

'Good shower?' He grunted, his empty gaze not moving from her face as he took her hand between his own, stroking her skin in small, soothing circles.

I let out a sigh and returned to watching her face myself, searching for a hint of her waking, only to find nothing.

I slowly stood up and started to walk out of the room, pausing at the door and turning to face the back of Bix's head, staring at him as he didn't acknowledge anything.

'Bix, she'll come back soon you know. She's too damn stubborn to stay away for much longer, so stop being an asshole and look around. You're not the only one who's sad about this.' I saw his body tense up as I continued speaking.

'Yeah, you're the only one up here day and night, every waking minute watching her and staring at her. But we are _all_ grieving, and dealing with it in our own ways. So get your big fat head out your ass and stop feeling so sorry for yourself.' I stared at him for a moment longer, before his head sank low, staring at the ground. I sighed in annoyance before exiting the infirmary, slamming the door shut before striding down the stairs and slumping down next to Freed.

I glanced at him before freezing and taking a longer look.

'Hey, where are your other glasses? And why do you have a nosebleed? Are you looking at porn or something?' Freed stuttered and glared at me before pushing his spare pare of gale force glasses up his nose and coughing into his hand.

We'd all heard Gajeel laugh from his corner, letting us know he'd heard my comment, and I couldn't help but smile slightly. It was nice to cause some people to feel emotions other than depression and sorrow every once in a while.

Freed was flushed bright red now, as Gajeel was talking to Mira, who'd brought him over another plate of scrap metal, and her laughter echoed around the guild. He'd clearly told her what I'd said, and found it just as funny as the iron dragon slayer.

I smirked and pushed Freed's book down so it no longer covered his glowing red face.

'Don't worry Freed, loads of guys can't handle those kinds of pictures without spraying a bit, especially dragon slayers.' I added on the final bit to my sentence when I heard Gajeel guffawing, and smiled when I heard him choke on his iron, requiring Levy to hit him hard on the back so he coughed up a screw. Freed was now luminous red, and hid his face deep within his medical journal, mumbling things about punishment and disrespect and what not.

I giggled slightly before sobering up and sighing, staring off into the distance as I thought about Bix.

Laxus needed to talk to him. There was no way around it.

However, since the council's visit a month ago, Master has been inundated with paperwork, and with his complete and utter het and fear of the stuff, Laxus had been forced into doing the majority of it as "future guild master training". Somehow I doubt Laxus is ever going to have to deal with a half destroyed mountain, which lead to a million forms from the Fiore Geographical society, the Zentopian church for some reason (probably made up by Lahar, that guy is seriously sadistic when it comes to punishing Fairy Tail's Master with paperwork) and another load of paperwork from the various departments of the magic council. Apparently, we'd broken lot of rules when we beat up those dark guild jerks, didn't report the incident of kidnapping and also the giant magical ball of energy that was situated on Tenrou.

They really didn't like that one...

Freed couldn't get Bix, no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to comfort him on the level Bix needed it right now. Evidently, he'd tried and got a punch in the face.

I knew a black eye when I saw one coming, and Bix was the only one who was emotionally unstable enough to hit Freed. Then again Natsu, Grey and Erza were just as bad, but Freed would have had them writhing on the floor with his Dark Ecriture if it had been them, so of course, it had to be Bix.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to think of any way to save Bix from himself... and only coming up with one answer.

Lucy.

**Lucy's POV**

I was so close... not far left now. The light in the darkness was still far away, but now it was bigger, like the size of a football. I could almost reach it... but I had to go quicker...

_Come back for him..._

I'm trying Ever, just wait a little more...

_He can't cope..._

Tell him I'm coming! Mavis help me I'm going as fast as I can...

_We're losing Bix as well..._

I gasped and froze, before resuming my desperate reach for the light, analysing how close I got at every step.

I had to get back... for him.

I didn't want to leave him alone anymore; I didn't want him shutting himself away again.

_'Please Bix... wait for me... just a little longer, I promise... just wait a little longer...'_


	50. Chapter 50

**Bickslow's POV**

I was asleep again. I think. I always dreamt of being with her, and when awake I truly was always with her, so my differentiation between reality and dreams has become blurred.

The only difference between my dreams and reality, is that she's awake in my sleep, and when I'm awake, she's not.

It's almost funny really.

Either way, I sat beside her, in my armchair, watching her sleep as I leant back into the plush cushions, my hair still long as I couldn't be bothered to get Mira to cut it. The style has grown on me a bit if I'm honest. I just ruffle it up and it's passable, rather than spending time gelling it into its old Mohawk. Besides, it always made a mess in my hood, the gel.

I hadn't been pestered by anyone for the past couple days; Ever and Freed had gone on a mission so they could pay off the orphanage's bills for them, so they wouldn't be back for another day. Everyone else was too busy dealing with their own problems and feelings of grief over Lucy's condition.

I knew I'd been a complete jackass, Ever pointed that out and she hadn't even seen what I'd done to Freed, though she probably worked it out. She's pretty smart like that, and she knows us inside-out.

That was a week ago now, and I'd made an awkward apology to Freed, only for him to grin at me and playfully punch my arm, saying now we were even.

I smiled slightly at the memory. Freed had become more social with the guild since Lucy had joined our team, and more people were talking to him and asking about his magic. Though he was still shy sometimes, and did revert back to his old attitude, everyone had accepted that as part of him.

Ever was the same. Everyone had discovered her slightly dirty sense of humour, and found she was actually easy to talk to when she wasn't challenging Erza about being the Queen of the Fairies.

I sighed, and leant forwards to take Lucy's hand between my own once again. I softly swirled my fingertips across her ivory skin, closing my eyes and sighing softly, the feel of her skin lulling my mind into a state of bliss.

Pathetic, I know. But when the only person you love is unable to respond to your caresses, your kiss, your words; you take whatever you can get, and just the smooth feeling of her skin against mine was enough to reassure me she was there. Enough to make me believe that she'd come back.

**Lucy's POV**

I felt something warm around my hand, and became aware of a damned alarm clock beeping by my head... wait a minute, was something on my face?

I reached up my free hand and fumbled with the thing, feeling plastic and tubing, and felt something sticking out of my arm... was that a needle?

Slowly, I opened my eyes, fighting against the lead weights that tried to pull my eyelids back closed.

I blinked a couple of times to get rid of the sleepiness that clouded my vision, and winced slightly at the pain the light caused me.

Wait... I know that ceiling... I'm in the guild infirmary... what happened again? Oh yeah, I remember. Psycho creep and evil pretty boy.

I slowly turned my pounding head to the side, looking down at my hand to find it encased in two familiar ones, the large, tanned and calloused fingertips smoothing patterns onto my skin. I smiled slightly and carefully pulled off the stupid breathing mask, noticing he didn't react to my movement, his eyes closed and a small sad smile on his face.

Silently, I placed the mask down beside my head, and took a deep breath of fresh air, before whispering his name.

'Bix?' My voice sounded gravelly and hoarse, and I frowned as I coughed slightly to try to loosen the gravelly tone.

I felt his hands tighten around mine, and the sad smile transform into a frown. I tightened my hand around his and gave his fingers a squeeze, whispering his name once again with my old hag voice. Damn I really needed a drink.

'Bix...' He shook his head, holding my hand tighter within his own and bringing his head down to rest it on our entangled hands.

'No... let me sleep a bit more... I don't wanna wake up anymore...' I saw his babies emerge from beneath him, and watched as they squeaked in surprise, before flying over to head butt me, but I shushed them as they were about to speak, nodding my head towards Bix.

'Bix... come on, look at me...' I coughed again, my throat in pain from the over-use.

_How long have I been asleep? _I thought to myself, trying to look around for anything that told me the date.

I scowled down at Bickslow as he shook his head and clenched his hands tighter around mine, kind of making it hurt a bit.

'Bickslow, if you don't stop squeezing my hand like that I won't have one anymore! Now get up and gimme a damned hug you big stupid idiot!' He froze as at my outburst, and his grip on my hand loosened, before he slowly sat up, his eyes travelling along the length of my body before meeting my own. His mouth was open in shock as he shook his head, reaching out a shaky hand to press it against my cheek. I smiled slightly at the disbelief on his face, and leant into his warm touch, smelling his subtle scent of wood smoke and pine forest; seriously, how does he even smell like that? Well, I wasn't complaining, it was nice.

'Lucy... please, tell me I'm not asleep...' I watched a tear glide down his slightly hollowed cheek as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I scowled at him, and reached up the hand he'd been holding to press it against his own that was still against my face, interlocking my fingers with his.

'Course you're not asleep, silly. Have you been eating well? You look thin...' I was interrupted by Bix throwing himself forwards and pulling me against him, his hands yanking my head so it rested on his shoulder as he buried his face into my neck.

I was about to protest when I felt him shaking with his sobs.

Hesitantly, I lifted my arms to hug him, rubbing soothing circles into his back as I relaxed into his embrace.

'Thank God... you scared me so much don't you ever fucking do that again, you hear me?' He pulled away while he was speaking and held my face tenderly between his large hands, his watery deep red eyes staring fearfully into my own.

My heart almost broke at the amount of pain and sadness they held as he looked at me. Wordlessly, I smiled and nodded, pulling him in for another hug.

For what felt like an age, I held him against me, letting him cry as he ran his hands across my body, as though to convince himself this wasn't a dream, to tell himself that I was actually here.

Finally, he pulled away, his tears dried up as he smiled softly, and leant forwards to brush his lips softly against mine, a feather light touch that made my heart skip down to my stomach.

I lifted a hand and ran it through his long spiky hair, loving the soft feel of the strands pulling through my fingers.

Wait... long hair?

'Bix, how long was I out for? Your hair's grown out a lot, it looks great but...' He reached up and brushed my fringe away from my face, smiling sadly. He hadn't taken his eyes off of me since I woke up, and I began to get a horrible feeling in my gut.

'Lucy, you've been in a coma for over four months now.' I felt my jaw drop open and I began to hyperventilate, panic setting in.

'FOUR MONTHS?!' I shouted in surprise before he pulled me against his chest, stroking the back of my head as I clutched onto his skin tight black shirt in shock.

_Four whole months?! No wonder he was so happy that I'm awake... Four months..._ I felt tears unwillingly escape from my eyes, and hid my face in his shirt, softly speaking to him as he continued to caress me, soothingly.

'I heard you... I heard everyone... but I didn't think... four whole months... then why do I still feel tired?' I asked, pulling away and forcing a smile to my face. Bix laughed shortly and grinned down at me, his eyes soft as he seemed to analyse every feature of my face, but most of all he stared straight into my eyes. I felt heat travel up into my cheeks, and knew I was blushing.

'Hey, what are you staring at?' I mumbled, pulling back from him slightly and looking away, only to feel his hand gently grab my chin and forced me to look back at him.

'You... your eyes... I've missed them... I missed your blush, your voice... how you pout like that when you're embarrassed.' I forced myself to stop, and his chest rumbled with a deep, masculine laugh.

'Shut up, idiot.' I muttered, looking down as he laughed again and lifted my face to look into his own eyes.

'Your idiot though.' I smiled and nodded. My smile grew wider as his face travelled closer and closer to mine, one of his hands resting oh so gently against my cheek and the other caressing the base of my spine as we slowly made our way closer and closer to one another.

'Tch, don't you know it.' I mumbled, just before our lips made contact in a harsher and more passionate kiss. I felt all of his frustration and longing in that kiss, and I felt so guilty for being the one to put it there.

I felt my hands reach up and tangle in his longer hair, and yanked on it to keep his lips against mine as he tried to pull away, making him laugh deep within his large, muscular chest. I smiled against his mouth, and relished in his taste. His soft lips were also strong as he dominated my mouth, claiming it as forever his; the only way I'd ever want it to be.

Finally, we pulled away to breathe, and his eyes seemed to stare into my soul as they glowed a luminous green, yet I stared straight back, knowing he would control himself and not use any magic against me. He grinned back as his eyes calmed to their usual red, yet there was a spark of excitement in the beautiful orbs, before they became serious as he clutched me against him; his massive hands encircles my tiny waist and squeezed slightly.

'I love you, so much... don't ever leave me again, please.' I smiled sadly, and wrapped my arms around his neck to pull myself up into a tight hug.

'Never again... I'm sorry Bixy... sorry I made you wait like this...' My voice shook as he pulled me closer to him, something II didn't think was possible as I felt him whisper in my ear, his warm breath making me shiver.

'You're worth the wait love.' I smiled and buried my face in the crook of his neck, littering his exposed skin with soft kisses.

'Oh, Bix?' He grunted in acknowledgement, and I pulled myself up so my mouth was beside his ear as I whispered to him.

'Love you too, idiot.'

**No-one's POV**

Everyone in all of Magnolia knew that Fairy Tail were celebrating; and this was truly the biggest celebration they'd ever had.

The majority of Magnolia itself also joined in the celebration, as the famous and beautiful Lucy Heartfilia, Celestial Mage of Fairy Tail was well once again.

In the guild, they parties like they'd never partied before, and tears of happiness and relief were littered across everyone's faces; even Juvia proclaimed she was happy her Love Rival was awake, and ended up flooding the guild slightly before Demon Mira appeared and calmed her down instantly.

Natsu was grinning from ear to ear, and barely left the Celestial Mage's side, sitting with her at all times and watching to ensure nothing and nobody came near her; much to the annoyance of the blonde's new boyfriend who was announced to an unsurprised guild. It had been clear to everyone that Bickslow loved Lucy, and that his love was reciprocated; well, all except Natsu, who glared at the Seith Mage and shot him dirty looks. Bickslow even received "anonymous" death threats written on partially burnt paper with some letters written backwards telling him to stop dating his partner.

This of course angered the rest of the Raijinshuu and Laxus, who had proclaimed himself as a supporter of the pairing, much to the sadness of Master Makarov and the malevolent glee of Mirajane.

Of course, no one was happier than the celestial mage to be awake; it had hurt her so much to hear her family speak to her, and when she found herself unable to answer she'd become more frustrated than the people waiting for an answer.

The party was set to last for at least a week or two, yet of course, Lucy was sentenced to more bed rest from an irate Porlyusica who was finally allowed to return to her forest home, shouting about how she hated humans and Fairies especially; of course making the guild laugh.

'See you guys tomorrow, I'm taking Lucy home.' Bix shouted over to Freed, Ever and Laxus; who'd been released from paperwork in celebration of Lucy's awakening.

"Lucy! Lucy!" Bix's babies had finally started talking again, but they hadn't left Lucy alone all evening, even when Bix had to go and talk to other people in the guild, they hovered protectively at her side, glaring at Natsu and making his drinks and food spill all over him before hiding behind Lucy; who stopped Natsu from "burning the little pieces of firewood" with a death glare that made him cower behind his scarf.

'Oi, I'm taking Luce home!' Natsu shouted, running forwards, only to be stopped by Laxus, who grabbed his scarf and dangled him a few feet in the air.

'See you tomorrow Bix; take care of Blondie for me.' He called out, continuing to eat with his spare hand and ignoring a thrashing and fire spewing Natsu that dangled from the other.

Bix grinned, sticking out his tongue and winking, before he slung an arm across his girlfriend's shoulders and guided her out of the guild, staring down at her tenderly.

'Oh, Natsu, you're not allowed to visit me at night anymore, I'm dating Bickslow now, you got it?' Lucy suddenly turned around and glared at Natsu, making him freeze and nod slowly, before she smiled and waved at everyone and skipped over to her waiting boyfriend; jumping on his back so he could carry her home while she fiddled with his long strands of hair.

Natsu sighed in defeat as Laxus dropped him unceremoniously on the ground. Natsu glared at the stone floor before getting up and grinning, running off to find a certain ice mage to have a fight with.

He'd decided that he was fine with whatever Luce wanted, as long as she never got hurt again; he'd make sure of that, and he knew Bickslow would be way over protective now she was awake, so there was very little danger that Lucy Heartfilia would ever be so severely harmed again.

* * *

Along the quiet, starlit streets of Magnolia walked a couple with some flying totems behind them, zigzagging along the street ahead of the couple. Bickslow had placed Lucy on the floor, and they now walked side by side, his arm around her slim waist as she snuggled against him for warmth.

'Hey, Lucy?' Bickslow said suddenly, interrupting the companionable silence they'd been sharing. She smiled and continued to look up at the stars above her with a happy, loving look on her face.

'Hmm?' She replied, her attention on the clear night sky. Bix reached into his back pocket and pulled out some shining objects, before coughing gruffly and placing them in her hands. Lucy gasped in surprise as she looked down to see a large collection of silver celestial gate keys.

'What-' Bickslow interrupted her as she stared up at him in surprise.

'The guild collected them for you. Any mission that offered a key as reward, we collected it and kept them for you... as a present for when you wake up-' Bix was interrupted by his tiny girlfriend squealing and jumping into his arms. He quickly caught her and staggered slightly as he grinned at her tight embrace.

'Thanks Bixy. I'd better thank everyone tomorrow too... you're the best.' Bix smiled as he held her tightly against him, still not quite believing he was awake, before he realised, this was far too good to be a dream.

'Hey Bixy?' He grunted, happy at the nickname she'd given him.

'Can you carry me home? My legs are tired; I got to start training again soon, right?' She mumbled against his neck, her voice betraying her exhaustion as she yawned.

Bix chuckled as he easily carried her light body along the canal path towards her fully paid off apartment.

'You got it love. You sleep, I'll sort you out; before you say anything, I'll sleep on the sofa. You're far too important to me for anything else yet, I'm going to take this slow, cause I don't want to mess anything up, okay?' Lucy giggled slightly and nodded as he took her upstairs to her apartment.

'My Bixy is a gentleman. The sofas a bit small though; sleep with me, but nothing more, got it?' She mumbled, as she smiled up at the person who she loved more than anyone in the world; the person who she risked everything for, and the one who'd waited for her to return from a possible never ending abyss.

As they snuggled together under the blankets, watched by the stars above them, he pulled her close to his body, his heart aching with the pain of relief and love as he held the blonde beauty against him.

'I love you Lucy Heartfilia.' She smiled, knowing he thought she was asleep, before she turned and lightly kissed his bare chest, her eyes still closed as she threw one arm over his waist.

'Love you too Bixy.' She whispered, her heart swelling with happiness as she was finally next to the man she loved.

And if she had it her way, she'd always remain beside him, forever, from now on.

**Meanwhile, in the Spirit Realm...**

'NOOOOOOOOOO! MY PRINCESS! YOU SHOULD LOVE YOUR FAITHFUL LION! I'VE LOST HER ONCE AGAIN TO-' Leo's exaggerated cries and dramatic gestures were interrupted by a fist slamming down on to his head. He whimpered and turned to face Aries, tears in his eyes as he pouted up at her.

'Ariiieeesssss!' He whined, his eyes wide and innocent looking behind his sunglasses as Aries scowled down at him, still in her dark mood.

'BAKA LOKE! LEAVE LUCY-HIME ALONE!' She shouted, glaring at him and grabbing him by his tie to drag him away from the Earthland Viewing pool, ignoring his screams and crocodile tears.

'Tch, guess she finally got a boyfriend.' Aquarius glared down at the image of her young Master sleeping happily and peacefully, and smiled as Scorpio encircled her shoulders with his arm, placing a kiss against her cheek.

'You know you love her, and are happy for her. We are!' He exclaimed, making her giggle childishly, before they left the young couple to their sleep, shutting down the viewing pool and hiding the key just in case Loke escape from dark Aries, though the likelihood of that happening was very slim; Aries was also a lot braver with her feelings and far more forward when she was in her dark form, so by the end of the night, Aquarius expected another couple to be made in the celestial realm...

Of course, no need to say, she was right.

THE END..?

* * *

**A/N:** THIS IS THE END MY FRIENDS! Of the official story that is... THERE WILL BE FLUFF FOLLOWING! SO KEEP AN EYE OUT! Cause you might just love it... :3

I'd like to thank everyone, and all my readers for reviewing and reading my work, it's been a pleasure to write and your comments have really spurred me on and made me feel happy! XD :)

Like seriously, you've made me feel like a half-decent writer, so thank you, a lot. :) Considering I'm going to university to study writing and literature, with the long-term goal to be a writer, you've given me some confidence in my skills. And I'm truly grateful to all of you!

I never in a million years actually thought people would ACTUALLY READ anything I wrote, so that I've had so many people read this, well, it's amazed me!

(P.S. Sherlock fans might recognise the question mark thing I did at "THE END" and yes, it was purposeful, cause fluff will follow.) :3 ;)

ANYWAYS!

If you haven't voted on the current poll, PLEASE DO! THE STANDINGS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1- LAXUS - 33

2- MYSTOGAN - 29

3- FREED - 18

4- BICKSLOW - 14

4- COBRA - 14

5- GAJEEL - 13

So, vote away! I will be starting this earlier than I originally planned, cause I foresee a lot of free time when I have no money during freshers... or at night when I can't sleep... so I need my pairing! :) xx

I really hope you've enjoyed "Lucy's Fury", and will read my next piece as well! :) xx


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